


Crazy Little Thing Called Love

by MusicAndTvAreLife29



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, Love Triangles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 110
Words: 226,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26635768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicAndTvAreLife29/pseuds/MusicAndTvAreLife29
Summary: "So, here I was, sitting alone in Louis Tomlinson's closet, only wearing my underwear and wondering how the hell I had gotten myself into this situation."A story about the fine line between love and friendship and about what you are willing to risk to find true happiness.(originally posted on Wattpad between 2016-2017)
Relationships: Harry Styles/Original Female Character(s), Louis Tomlinson/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. The Beginning Of The End Or How I Met Louis Tomlinson On A Train

The Beginning Of The End Or How I Met Louis Tomlinson On A Train

I was lying on my bed, my legs dangling lazily over the edge of the bed and blew a lose strand of my brown hair out of my face. I had just discovered a small black dot which kept moving at the ceiling and was wondering if I wanted to know if it was simply a small bug or a spider which I wasn't too fond of. I decided I didn't want to know, not until later that day anyway when I would search my room for spiders like I did every night.

My phone gave a buzzing sound and I let out a loud sigh. Work. Fantastic. Slowly, I got off my bed, peeled my clothes off and put on the uniform I had to wear for work as a sort of secretary at the welcoming desk of a big fancy hotel. I didn't particularly like my job but it was only three days a week for 4 hours and I needed the money to pay my bills while I was still at university. Going to university in London was f***cking expensive these days. High tuition fees and the living costs in London were insanely high but I was living my dream and that was all that mattered at the moment. I decided that I was too lazy for makeup and simply pulled my hair into a neat bun, quickly slipping into my ballerinas on the way out the front door.

As it was already mid-afternoon the tube was spilling over with students on their way home from school and some lucky people who got off from work as early as four. I was squished between a middle aged woman who was reading an important looking document and an insanely attractive guy who looked sort of familiar. I wasn't sure where I had seen him before and as he was wearing a beanie and sunglasses it was difficult to make out his face.

The tube came to a sudden halt at Leicester Square and I promptly fell into the mysterious stranger who caught me before I could have hit the floor. "Sorry", I said embarrassedly and quickly let go of him, while trying to get as much space between the two of us as possible in the more than full compartment. "Don't worry about it. Are you alright, love?" I simply nodded, too shocked to reply.

That voice, that familiar voice I had heard so many times before on the radio, in interviews, and most importantly; on a daily basis on my mp3-player. Louis Tomlinson still didn't look very convinced but didn't ask any further questions. "Seriously, I'm fine, Louis." He looked surprised. "You recognised me?" he asked slightly shocked. I laughed. "Well, I wasn't sure why you looked familiar at the beginning but your voice sort of gave you away", I said with a grin in his direction. He chuckled. "Are you a fan? Because you're not freaking out right now, not that I want you to, especially not in a packed train full of teenage girls, but I'm just curious", he said in a low voice and looked down at me.

God, he is even more gorgeous in real life than on screen. His cheekbones are to die for and his eyes... "Keep it together, Claire", I told myself and tried to act as if I wasn't totally freaking out on the inside. "Well, I work as a sort of receptionist for a big fancy hotel so I am quite used to famous people by now. But I am a huge fan of your music." I answered him while I tried to figure out what the next stop was.

As I was pretty small with a height of 5'2, I had difficulties to spot the screen which showed the next stop because there was no way I could make out the woman's voice which always told you what the next stop would be over the crowded compartment. Aha, Hyde Park Corner, my stop.

"Ah, that explains a lot. What's your favourite song, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked with a grin, one eye brow raised in a questionably sort of manner. I chuckled. "It's Little Things and as much as I'd love to continue this conversation, I gotta get off now, but it was nice to meet you, Louis." I smiled at him, gave him a little wave and turned around to start my little fight to get to the doors in time, when I felt a hand on my shoulder holding me back. "You didn't even give me chance to say good-bye", Louis said with mock sadness in his voice and pouted when I turned around. "Oh I am so sorry, my kind sir, my deepest apologies" I replied with a mock bow. "But I really gotta go now. I'm sure you'll be fine."

He smirked and let go of my shoulder. "Alright, alright. I wouldn't want to be held responsible for you being late for work. It was nice to meet you ..." he looked at me and then I realised I had never told him my name. "Oh, I'm Claire. Sorry that I didn't introduce myself properly." I started making my way to the doors as the train rolled into the station with a lot of "Excuse-mes" and "Sorrys" along the way, as one usually does.

Just as the doors were about to open I heard Louis' voice behind me. "Have a great day, Claire!" he shouted over the noise, the amusement prominent in his voice, before I was rushed outside onto the platform and further away from him. When the doors had closed and the train rolled out of the station, I realised that he never had said good bye.

A.N. Hi everyone, this was my first fanfic ever which I wrote back in 2016/2017. I promise the story becomes less cheesy and the writing improves a few chapters in. All the love, S.


	2. Here We Go Again Or How Louis Tomlinson Followed Me To Work

My shift at the reception started out really boring with just a couple of incoming phone calls from people who wanted to book a room of which the most entertaining one sounded like a group of teenage girls who tried to convince me that they were Little Mix. Unfortunately for them, I had met Little Mix twice already when they had come in for meetings in one of the hotel's meeting rooms and therefore knew what they sounded like, plus there was way too much giggling involved for them to be taken seriously.

Two hours into my shift at around seven o'clock, more and more people started to pile up in front of the hotel, most of them being teenage girls who were all giggling among and talking excitedly. I assumed that some big celebrity was about to come in later that evening. Although we always tried to be as discrete as possible when it came to reservations and bookings at our hotel and the hotel-run restaurant, someone always let it slip when we expected a huge mega star and so we had to deal with crying and hysterical fans on quite often and were used to them.

I didn't have a clue who was expected to come in tonight but it had to be someone really exciting because the girls outside were slowly, but surely, losing it.

Just when I was about to check the booking list for tonight, the screaming outside increased dramatically and I saw a lot of flashes going off when two big fancy cars pulled up in front of the hotel entrance. I couldn't make out who got out of the car but it seemed to be multiple people. I put on my most convincing, relaxed smile –or at least I hoped that it looked relaxed- and stood up behind the welcoming desk. In came five people, four young men and a bigger, slightly older one who looked like he could be some sort of body guard or something like that.

They turned around and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from making any weird noises. One Direction and their body guard Paul Higgins were standing in the hotel lobby and I was the only person around ergo the first person to welcome them to the hotel. Praying that Louis wouldn't recognise me, although the chances were very slim that he wouldn't as I had just talked to him a bit more than two hours ago, I walked around the desk towards them.

"Welcome to the Rose Hotel. My name is Claire Winters and I am here to welcome you tonight. I am assuming you have a reservation for either the hotel or the restaurant?" I asked with a smile, while trying to keep myself from rolling my eyes at my stupid entrance and from looking at Louis. Instead I tried to concentrate on Liam. From the corner of my eyes I could see that Louis looked at me, surprise clearly written all over his face, and then he asked "Claire? What are you doing here?" He seemed genuinely pleased to see me which made me go slightly weak in the knees but I tried to act as if I wasn't suffering from a major fangirl stroke and replied –maybe a bit too sassily- "I work here, what do you think, Louis?"

Paul had wandered off to go somewhere else, presumably the loo, but the other three lads were looking at us curiously. "Hahahaha, mate, she got you there", sniggered Niall and padded Louis' shoulder while Liam seemed to be holding back his laughter as well. "So, you two know each other?" asked Harry with his deep, beautiful voice and I practically melted right there on the marble floor. "I wouldn't necessarily say 'know each other' but we briefly met on the train today." I explained to Harry and gave Louis a cheeky wink. "But I can assure you that he was very smitten with me straight away" I said while sending a cocky grin in Louis' direction. Louis cleared his throat. "Actually, she was so mesmerised by my beautiful, perfect appearance that she literally fell right into my arms."

I lightly slapped his arm. "Shush darling, you're ruining the whole story! And you're making me look bad. I don't even want to think about what my manager would say if he heard me talking to you guys like that." I shuddered and the other three boys howled with laughter. "I don't know what really happened, but it seems like you two have a bit of history" chuckled Liam. Niall still hadn't stopped laughing and Harry looked at me like I had just turned into a sparkly unicorn or something like that. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating, but he did gave me a weird look.

"I think I have just found my new best friend." He told excitedly us and threw an arm around my shoulders. "I have never seen anyone who could keep up with Louis' sass so well." I turned slightly red but quickly tried to overplay it by saying "Oh shush, Harry, I don't think I can take you up on that offer. This is simply too much for me. Such AN HONOUR!" I acted as if I was about to faint (which I was, but they didn't need to know that) and leaned onto Harry for support. The others laughed. "No but seriously, you don't want me as your best friend, trust me, I'm way too messed up for that and I think my best friend Lily would have a problem with that. Plus, aren't you here for something else rather than making new friends?" Harry fake pouted and Louis pulled him away from me and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Don't be sad, Hazza. You never had a chance with her anyway as she's been MY best friend since we met earlier. Maybe she has another beautiful friend you can be friends with." He winked at me and I rolled my eyes at him, secretly freaking out about him calling me beautiful.

Paul chose this moment to come back from wherever he had disappeared to. "You alright, boys? Why are you still standing here? You were supposed to wait INSIDE the restaurant for the producers!" he told them and then said with a smile in my direction. "My apologies for any inconvenience they have caused while I was gone. They sometimes still behave like children. Especially THIS one here" he said with a nod in Louis' direction. I chuckled and said "Yeah, I noticed that. Let me just check what table was booked for you." I quickly walked back around the desk and skipped through the booked tables for the night. One said "Styles, Tomlinson, Horan, Payne, Higgins, Cowell, Jordan, Fell, Sheppard" which I assumed was the right table and after checking the table number I let them over to the restaurant entrance, Louis right on my heels.

"If you would all please follow me." I said with a fake, polite smile in their direction, trying to ignore Louis' presence right behind me, but I was sure they could see the amusement in my eyes. "Most certainly, Miss Winters" said Louis with a mock bow and they all followed me to a big table at the back of the restaurant towards the rose garden of the hotel, well hidden from the big windows at the front and therefore also hidden for all the paps outside.

"This is your table, gentlemen. A waiter will be with you in a minute. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask any member of the staff and they will try to help you as best as they possibly can." I gave them a final smile and turned around, but was stopped by a hand which had a firm grip on my arm. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Claire" Louis said with a wink and let me go with a light squeeze of my arm.

I walked back outside into the lobby to welcome other guests who had just arrived. While trying to act as polite and normal as possible, I couldn't get Louis' flirty smile and Harry's beautiful eyes and deep voice out of my head. With Niall's and Liam's laughter still in my head I welcomed guests after guests while secretly hoping to run into the guys again, although a small voice inside of me was convinced that One Direction was probably the last thing I needed in my life right now.


	3. The Friendship Deal Or How I Got One Direction's Numbers

When my shift had ended the boys still hadn't left the restaurant and I quickly changed out of my work clothes into a pair a black skinny jeans and a light grey jumper with a pair of black boots. I didn't really look where I was going on my way out as I was trying to squeeze my uniform into my bag which seemed to have shrunken to at least half its size so I bumped straight into someone. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't watch were I was going." I apologised quickly until I heard a chuckle and looked up to find Louis smirking down at me.

"You really need to stop running into me like that all the time. If you wanna feel me up, all you have to do is ask", he said with a cheeky wink in my direction. I laughed. "Wow, if I had known that it was SO easy to get closer to the famous Louis Tomlinson I wouldn't have made such a big effort in the first place." I sighed dramatically and threw my hands in the air. "Oh well, now that I know that I only have to ask you to get all touchy with you, my life's gonna be so much easier!" I gave him a big smile, took a step backwards and swung my bag over my shoulder.

"Anyway, as nice as it is to talk to you and especially to bump into you again, I gotta go now because I promised my best friend that I'd be home by nine and I still gotta take the tube and the bus there." Louis looked a bit disappointed but recovered quickly and immediately offered me to drop me off. "We're leaving anyway and I'm sure none of the boys would mind if you rode with us." He gave me his best puppy eyes, but as much as I wanted to give in and say yes (I mean it's Louis Tomlinson who can say no to THAT?), there were a million reasons why I couldn't.

"I am sorry, Louis, I can't. I'd love to ride with you but I there are so many reasons why I should walk out of the hotel right now and act as if I have never met you before." Louis was obviously disappointed and the hurt was clearly written all over his face but he still demanded to know my reasons. "Well, for starters what do you think would happen if I walked out of the hotel with you guys. The media would just LOVE that now, wouldn't they? I'd probably date at least one of you, maybe even two by tomorrow morning, and I'd probably also try to break up Liam and Sophia at the same time, so no thank you. As much as I'm sure that you're all amazing guys –and as much as my inner fangirl is screaming at me to say yes-, I don't think that I'd fit into your world, Louis. I'm just a girl from Norfolk who's living her dream in London and you are a worldwide known popstar who gets followed by paps and fans wherever he goes. As much as I'd like it for us to work out, I don't think it will, I'm sorry."

I gave him a sad smile and turned around to walk out of the back door of the hotel as the entrance was still occupied by One Direction fans, but Louis stopped me once again. "Do you really just wanna walk out on me like that?" he asked me with a pained expression on his face. I shrugged. "I do understand where you're coming from but it's not all bad in my world. Of course we get a lot of media attention and it sometimes really annoys the hell out of me especially all this Larry Stylinson shit, but we get so much love and support and have so many great things in our lives that have only happened because of our singing career. And most importantly, just like you, we're living our dream. We, I, will do everything that I can to protect you from the media and the fans. We can work this out, Claire. So, please, please give us a chance, give me a chance! I'm sure we'd be the bestest of friends." He said in a pleading voice, with a cheeky smile in the end.

The other three guys chose that exact moment to come up to us. "Everything okay here? Paul said we're about to leave." Niall said with a smile in my direction. "Yeah, we're fine. I was just about to leave." I said in the exact moment that Louis said. "No, she doesn't want to be our friend and doesn't want to ride back with us." Harry looked a bit confused just like the other two. "You don't want to be friends with us?" Niall asked and looked at me as if I had just told him that I hate food or something like that. I opened my mouth to explain myself, but Louis was faster than me.

"She's scared of all the media attention that comes along with our job, but I told her that we'd all protect her if she decided to try being our friend because I'm sure we'd all get along perfectly, right boys?" The other three nodded and Liam said "I understand why you don't want to associate with us, but my girlfriend Sophia is also a very private person and she simply deleted all of her social media accounts or at least made them private and she doesn't receive too much hate. If you want to talk to her about this I could give you her phone number. I'm sure she wouldn't mind." He said with a kind smile in my direction. Harry nodded. "I know that the media attention can be hard, especially when they make up stupid rumours but you learn how to deal with them and for every hate tweet you get one hundred tweets from people who tell you how much they love and admire you." He told me and gave me a reassuring smile.

I couldn't take it anymore. "Alright, alright I'll think about it okay? But I still really need to leave right now." After they had all saved their phone numbers in my phone (Liam also gave the number of Sophia), I gave them one last smile and turned around but for the third time this day I was stopped by Louis who pulled me into a hug and held me close. It felt so good to be held by him and he smelled really good. "It was great to meet you, Claire", he said and gave me a light squeeze before he let me go off me just to pass me on to Harry. Now I knew why everyone made such a big fuss about how Harry hugged people. I was in fangirl heaven and I wanted to stay there as long as I could. He whispered a "Goodbye, Claire." Into my ear which send a shiver down my spine. After I got to enjoy a famous Horan hug and a quick, warm hug from Liam I was finally released and ready to go.

I was still in a bit of a daze after just being hugged by all four members of One Direction and felt like I was floating out of the hotel on a bubbly wonderful fangirl cloud in fangirl heaven. They all smelled so f***cking good. And they all were SO fit. I envied everyone who had the pleasure of being hugged by One Direction on a regular basis because it was better than everything I had ever dreamed about. With a bit more pep in my step than usually, I made my way over to the tube station and smiled widely at passers-by who probably thought that I was some crazy person. Happily whistling "Girl Almighty", I got onto the tube to Hackney where Lily and I lived, super excited to tell Lily all about my eventful evening.


	4. Text Conversations Or How Harry Lost Twenty Bucks

"No, he didn't!" screamed Lily and I threw a pillow at her to calm her down which unfortunately didn't have the desired effect because she start laughing so hard that she fell of the sofa. "He winked at you? And called you beautiful? Wow, you lucky bitch!" She wiggled her eyebrows at me and another pillow hit her in the face. "It wasn't like THAT!" I said defensively although I wished it was.

"He was just being friendly. I bet he acts like that with every girl." Lily shook her head. "Stop putting your 1D adventure down! I'm pretty sure they don't talk every girl they meet into trying to be their friend. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" She screamed and started jumping up and down on the sofa. "You have ALL of their numbers and they want to meet you again! You HAVE to text them that you want to see them again." I shook my head.

"I can't Lil. Just think about it. Me? Being friends with One Direction? Yeah, sure. Like THAT's gonna work out. I don't think I'm ready to get followed by paps wherever I go and to basically give up my privacy. I can't even be friends with them without "dating" anyone. I just don't fit into their world." I said and stared out of the window. Lily stopped jumping and looked at me.

"Hey, Claire, stop this self-loathing shit, okay? You're amazing and I totally get why the guys wanna be friends with you. Plus they freaking tried to CONVINCE you to be friends with them. They don't care if they get papped with you. Liam even gave you his girlfriend's number and they all promised to look after you. What else do you need? This is a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity to be friends with really nice lads, who are incredibly talented and may I say insanely attractive." She said with a grin and added a wink at the end. I couldn't help but laugh. "Well, THAT is true, but I don't know... Do you think I should try it?" I asked her.

She rolled her eyes. "Are you freaking deaf? Did you NOT hear what I just said? Text them. Or even better, call them!" I sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll text them. But who should I text?" Lily squealed a little but quickly managed to compose herself again. "Louis, obviously. He's your new bestie and that's how it all started, innit?" She said and I stood up and rummaged through my bag on the search for my phone.

I hesitantly opened a new text message, my fingers hovering over my screen. "What should I write?" I asked Lily with a frown on my face as I tried to think of something cool to say. She thought for a moment. "I don't know, I haven't met him, have I?" "Wow Lily, thanks for your support." I said sarcastically. In the end, after ten minutes of writing and deleting stuff, I settled for the following message. "Dear Mr Tomlinson, I decided to take you up on your kind offer of becoming your friend. Where do I fill out my application form? Yours sincerely, Claire Winters, aka the weird girl from the Rose Hotel"

I pressed sent and Lily snatched my phone out of my hands. "Oh my gosh, Claire, you did NOT just sent that!" she laughed. I smiled innocently while Lily nearly lost it next to me. "I can't believe you just sent that!" She said in between giggles. "I can't believe it either." I told her and silently prayed that Louis would get the joke. There was a short silence and I jumped when my phone beeped, indicating that I had received a new text. "Oh my gosh, IS THAT HIM?" Lily said and basically threw the phone at me. I entered my pin and saw that I had indeed received a message from a certain "My Cool Best Friend". I opened it and a weird noise half snort, half laughter escaped my mouth.

"Dear Ms Winters,

I am most delighted to have received your inquiry of becoming my friend and I am happy to tell you that you're hereby invited to a movie night tomorrow evening during which we will discuss any further questions you may have concerning your new job.

Yours sincerely,

Louis Tomlinson

Ps. Thanks for texting me first, Harry now owes me 20 bucks. X

I dumbly starred at my phone for about a minute, trying to comprehend the fact that I had an actual text conversation with Louis Tomlinson before Lily snatched the phone out of my fingers to read the text herself. There was a short silence. "This. Is. Amazing." She started tipping a new message before I took my phone back. "Hey!" I read her started message, shook my head and deleted everything. Then I slowly wrote a reply.

C.: "Wow, what an honour, Mr Tomlinson. When and where is your movie night? Ps. Plz tell Harry that I am sorry but my friend made me text you."

He replied almost immediately.

L.: I'm happy you can make it, Ms Winters. 7pm, my place (55 Primrose Way, E5 OLA) (a.n. This is a fictional address!). And Harry says not to worry, he will be fine. ;) X

C.: I'll be there and I'm glad Harry is alright. ^^ Cya tomorrow! X

T.: Can't wait! X

I disbelievingly starred at my phone. I did NOT just had a text conversation with Louis Tomlinson. This couldn't be happening. I was having a movie night with One Direction. My thoughts were interrupted by Lily who had read our exchange over my shoulder.

"You have NO idea how much I envy you right now. Gooooooooood, I wish I wasn't working tomorrow!" she whined and pouted. I pulled her into a hug "Awwwww, poor Lily, I'm sure you'll come along another time very soon!" I tried to comfort her. Lily hugged me back. "Thanks, Claire. Now, let's prepare you for your movie night with ONE DIRECTION!" She shouted and dragged me into my room, probably to look for a perfect outfit to wear for tomorrow night.


	5. Harry Is Mean Or How I Met Ed Sheeran

It was Friday night and I was on my way to Louis' house. Fortunately, it was only a short 15- minutes-walk away from our flat so I didn't even have to ride the bus. To say that I was nervous was an understatement. I was wearing my favourite clothes I felt the most comfortable in and I had even put on a little bit of makeup which Lily had insisted on. Being the polite guest my dad had raised me to be, I had bought some chocolate which I hoped would be welcomed by the boys. My stomach flipped as I entered his street, filled with nice, normal looking houses, completely different from the tiny flat Lily and I were sharing.

51, 53, 55... I stopped in front of Louis' house, unable to actually open the gate and walk up to the front door to ring the bell, but then again, I couldn't spent my whole evening standing outside his house. Although I had to admit that the idea sounded very appealing. Taking deep breaths, I slowly opened the gate, walked up to the door and hesitantly rang the doorbell. There was a loud thud coming from the other side of the door, laughter and then the lights in the hallway went on.

A few seconds later a widely grinning Louis opened the door for me. "Claire, you made it!" he said happily and pretty much pulled me into the house into a hug. "I told you I would come and I usually keep my promises." I replied after he had released me, while trying to take off my jacket without looking like a complete idiot. Louis who saw that I was struggling, jumped to my rescue. "Here let me help you, love." He gently pulled of the jacket and hung it to the other jackets while I tried to hide my blush and mumbled a shy thanks.

After I had taken my shoes off, I remembered my gift and quickly presented Louis with the chocolate. "Oh Claire, you didn't have to buy something!" he said. I blushed even more. "Not that I am complaining, but you're welcome any time, with and without chocolate. Now, come on, we were about to order pizza when you arrived." He took my hand into his big one and I died a little bit inside while trying to take in as much of his house as possible.

The others cheered when Louis let me into the room, although I could have sworn that I saw Harry frown when he saw Louis' hand around mine, and I quickly let go as Niall pulled me into a welcoming hug. After I had also been greeted by Liam and Sophia, who was even more beautiful than she looked on the photos, I saw that the boys had company. I nearly let out squeal, which I could luckily cover up with a cough, but I saw Harry laughing at me. 

Ed Sheeran was standing next to Liam and I was sure that I had accidently entered my personal heaven instead of Louis' house. He grinned and exchanged a look with Harry before coming over to greet me. "Hi, I am Ed. Nice to meet you." He pulled me into a hug which I quickly returned. "Hi, I am Claire. It's kind of surreal to meet you. I am a huge fan of your music." I said really quickly, before turning into a human tomato and adverting my eyes. I heard the others laugh at my outburst. "Oh I already knew your name. Louis here wouldn't shut up about you." Ed said with an evil grin and now it was Louis' turn to blush.

"Soooo, lads, what about the pizza?" he asked without looking at me. Everyone cheered and shouted their preferences at him while I just stood quietly in a corner, trying to take everything in. I saw Harry looking over at me and gave him a small smile which he returned before he made his way over to me. "Hey, are you okay?" I nodded. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I'm fine, Harry, really. But thanks for caring." I said with a smile and looked up at him. "Any time, love." He replied and showed off his dimples while I nearly melted on the floor. 

"Now, what would you like on your pizza? Any preferences?" I thought for a few seconds. "Well, I am vegetarian and therefore don't eat meat or fish but apart from that I am open to pretty much everything." I told him. "That shouldn't be a problem. Oi, guys, Louis!" Louis looked over to us and shot Harry a questioning look. "Can we order a meat-free pizza because Claire here doesn't eat meat?" Louis just nodded and gave us thumbs up before he turned his attention back on Niall who was trying to convince him to order two pizzas for him. I looked up at Harry. "Thank you, you didn't have to do that." He shook his head. "Of course I had to. We don't want you to starve here, now, do we?" he said with a wink and then walked over to sit down on the sofa next to Ed while I was left alone, trying to act as if the wink hadn't affected me at all.

After everyone had ordered their pizzas (Niall had indeed ordered two), we all settled down on the sofas in the living room and I found myself squished in between Louis and Harry (not that I was complaining). There wasn't a lot of space left for me and my thighs were touching both of their thighs, while Louis had rested his arm on the back of the sofa behind our heads. Everyone quietly chatted to themselves and I was kind of just admiring everyone, lost in my thoughts when I felt someone poking my side and looked up.

Harry was grinning down on me with a devilish twinkle in his eyes. He poked me again and I squealed and tried getting out of his reach. This turned out to be impossible as I was unable to move any further away from him if I didn't want to end up on Louis' lab. He proceeded to poke and then tickle me until Louis who had stopped talking to Liam interfered and pulled me onto his lab, protecting me from Harry.

"Why are you attacking my new best friend?" he asked while I smugly grinned at Harry from the safety of Louis's arms. Harry eyed me suspiciously before replying. "She stole my spot." I burst out laughing because he looked like a little kid who hadn't gotten its will with his arms crossed and a pout on his beautiful face. "You don't have a spot, Harry." Louis replied while shaking his head. Harry just stuck out his tongue at us and turned away from us. The others who had watched our exchange with amused smiles on their faces now started discussing which film we wanted to watch.

Everyone shouted their suggestions at each other while I just leaned back on Louis and rested my head on his shoulder. "What's your favourite movie, love?" I heard Louis' voice in my left ear, his sudden closeness sending shivers down my spine. I blushed a little bit. "Love Actually." I admitted sheepishly and I heard Louis chuckle. "Hey, it's a great movie!" I defended myself. "It is a good movie." Louis admitted. "Harry has made us watch it a couple of times over the years." I grinned up at him. "Really?" He nodded. "Then I might forgive him for being a meanie and the tickling and poking." I said with a grin and relaxed again, leaning back into Louis. He was just so comfortable and it felt so... right, somehow. Louis' arms tightened around me and I saw Liam and Sophia exchanging knowing looks. Just when I caught Harry's eyes, the doorbell rang and Niall jumped up and excitedly skipped down the hallway to get the pizza.


	6. Louis The Gentleman Or How Harry Got Creative

The rest of the night was spent with eating pizza, watching Finding Nemo and a popcorn fight. By eleven o'clock I found myself sitting on the floor with my back resting against Harry's knees who was trying braid my hair. The others were sitting around us on the sofas and the floor and we were all calming down a bit after our popcorn fight. Niall was playing the guitar while humming a tune and everyone was engaged in quiet conversations. 

I felt Harry pulling a hairband around his creation and a few seconds later he proudly presented it to Louis, who was sitting next to me on the floor. "Tada!" Louis looked up at my hair and started laughing. "Mate, what the hell did you do to Claire's hair?" I felt a bit around my head, but could not really make out what Harry had created there without a mirror. 

Louis' comment had caught the attention of the others who were now laughing at my hair. "Maybe you should stick to your singing career, mate." said Ed with a chuckle and when I turned around, Harry sat behind me with crossed arms and a pout on his face. "I am sure it's not thaaat bad." I tried to cheer him up. "I like it when people play with my hair, so you are welcome to braid it any time. " I could see a smile starting to creep on his face. "But only as long as you aren't in public" Niall said and started laughing. Harry, being mature as always, stuck his tongue out at him and I got up and asked Louis if I could have a look at Harry's creation in his bathroom. "Sure, love. Come on, I'll show you were it is."

He got up as well and I followed him out of the living room. When we walked past the kitchen I could hear Ed shouting behind us not to do any funny business which made me chuckle. "Are they always like this?" I asked Louis with a grin. He rolled his eyes and held a door open to me. "Worse. Here is the bathroom, love. Do you need help sorting out that hair of yours?" he asked. I dared to look at the mirror and started laughing. "Wow, that really is an... um... interesting creation. I think I might need some help, yeah." Louis grinned and made me sit down on the toilet seat. "Here, sit down, love. I'll try to untangle the mess for you." He carefully started to untangle my hair while I played with my fingers, unsure of what else to say or do. Louis was the first to break the awkward silence. "So... you like it when people play with your hair. What else do you like?" he asked me, while he gently tucked at my hair.

"Well, I love food, especially Italian food. I could never ever live without music, my family and friends are very important to me, I like being outside surrounded by nature and I can never decide what my favourite colour is." I told him with a smile. "What kind of music do you listen to?" he asked curiously. I thought for a bit. "It's kind of difficult to say because I listen to such a wild mix of music. It all depends on my mood. I'll show you my Spotify playlist some time, which usually has everything I like listening to on it." I told him. I saw him grin in the mirror while he concentrated on untangling my hair. He looked kind of cute when he was concentrating so hard. "Is that an offer to hang out with you again?" he asked with a cheeky grin and caught my eyes in the mirror. I winked at him and grinned as well. "Maybe."

Our cute moment was interrupted when someone knocked on the bathroom door and then we heard Niall's voice coming through the door. "Is everything okay in here? Did you guys drown in the toilet or something?" I laughed and told him to come in which he did. "What the hell is taking you so long?" he asked and then saw my nearly untangled hair and grinned. "Didn't like Harry's creation that much after all?" he asked. "I am sure his skills will improve over time." I said with a laugh. Louis coughed and murmured "Doubtful." With a final tuck my hair fell down onto my shoulders, now in wild curls because of Harry's creative braiding. "Wow, your hair can nearly keep up with Harry's curls." Niall exclaimed and dragged me towards the living room to show my curls to everyone else. I gave Louis an apologetic look and mouthed "Sorry." in his direction. He smiled and mouthed a "no problem" back before Niall dragged me out of sight.

Harry was a bit disappointed that I had gotten rid of his amazing creation but had to admit that he might needed to improve his skills a bit more before taking up hairstyling professionally. After another hour of fun banter, I decided to call it a night, much to everyone's protest. I would have loved to stay longer but I still had to get home and I had a short essay due within the next few days. After I had hugged everyone else goodbye, Louis walked me to the door. "How are you gonna get home, love?" he asked me while I put on my shoes. "Walk?" I said and he immediately started to shake his head. "No, you are not walking home all alone at this time. I will walk you home." I felt touched that he was so concerned about my safety but I didn't want him to interrupt his night with his friends so I tried to convince him otherwise. "Thanks for the offer, Lou, but I'll be fine. It's just a short walk anyway." Louis however had already started putting on his shoes as well and walked back to the living room to inform the others that he would be walking me home.

Seeing that it was useless to protest, I put on my jacket on and waited for Louis to do the same before we stepped outside into the night. We started walking in silence and I shivered a bit as it was slightly colder than I expected it to be. Louis must have noticed my shivering because he pulled me into his side and put his arm around my shoulder. "Did you have a good time, tonight?" he asked me while we made our way down the street. I looked up to him and blushed a bit when I saw him looking down on me. "The best. Thank you so much for inviting me over. It was a bit surreal but great." He chuckled. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, despite Harry's braiding skills." he said and squeezed my shoulder slightly. "But maybe I should thank him for the mess he created." Confused, I looked up at him and he gave me a cheeky grin. "And why is that, Tomlinson?" I asked him, trying to look intimidating, but failing miserably. "Because that way I got to spend some time with you alone."

We spent the rest of the walk home talking about random topics and I was a little disappointed when we arrived at my flat. "Thank you for walking me home." I said when we stopped in front of my door. Louis looked down on me and gently pushed a loose strand of hair out of my face. "No problem, love. Thank YOU for keeping your promise." He pulled me into a long hug and swayed me a bit back and forth before letting me go. I struggled to unlock my door, but turned around one more time before walking in. "Good night, Louis." "Good night, Claire." He smiled down on me, before he suddenly kissed my cheek. He turned around quickly and walked off into the night, leaving me completely shocked with a weird bubbly feeling somewhere in my stomach area.


	7. Best Night Ever Or How We Nearly Died

It was the night of nights. My first ever One Direction show. I had been a massive fan for three years now and this was literally a life goal of mine coming true. I hadn't managed to see Louis for the past two weeks because we both had been incredibly busy, but we had texted from time to time and he had invited me to come to the first show of the UK leg. Louis had organised two first row tickets for me and Lily and the show was about to start.

"I can't believe this is actually happening." Lily squealed next to me. She was bouncing up and down excitedly. I, on the other hand, was too much in shock to give any kind of reaction. "Claire?!" Lily waved her hand in front of my face to get my attention. "Um, what?" I asked, being pulled out of my daze. "I said it's about to start!!!" she said her voice going an octave higher than usually.

"I am about to see them for the very first time, Claire. I am so excited I think I'm gonna throw up." I gave her a light squeeze. "Please don't throw up, I don't want us to miss the concert. And I am not sure if I'll let you meet the boys after the show if you throw up now." I said with a smirk and Lily went completely pale beside me. "MEET THEM?! MEET THEM? What the fuck, Claire, you never mentioned that! Oh my God, I will meet them. I think I'm gonna die."

She was holding onto the barrier that was separating us from the stage. "Holy shit, Claire, you have no idea how much I love and hate you at the same time right now." I smiled at her. "Ah, you know you love me. I'll hold your hand if it gets too exciting for you." Lily elbowed me. "I think you'll be needing my support just as much as I will need yours. Especially during Little Things." "That might be the case." I replied with a sly grin.

In that moment the lights went out and the screaming became deafening. I was trembling with anticipation. Then the music for No Control started and the boys took the stage and it hit me. I was here. This was happening. I was seeing my favourite band live together with my best friend.

No Control passed in a blur of emotions. By the time they had started Kiss You I had recovered and was happily dancing and singing along with Lily. "This is the best night of my life!" Lily shouted in my ear and I could only nod and stupidly grin at her. Then I took the time to actually watch the boys do their thing on stage and it was amazing. All four seemed to truly enjoy themselves on stage.

"WELCOME TO THE OTRA TOUR, LONDON!" Liam shouted and the crowd roared. "ARE YOU READY, LONDON?" Niall shouted and the crowd screamed in excitement. "It's really good to be back home." said Louis with a bright smile and everyone cheered. "We are One Direction, nice to meet you. We will do our very best to entertain you tonight. Please feel free to do anything that makes you happy. Dance, sing, just do whatever you feel like." Harry said and his eyes wandered over the crowd until he had found me and Lily. Then he winked at us. "DID HE JUST WINK AT US?" Lily shouted into my ear over the noise that the crowd was making. I could only nod while I gave Harry the evil eyes, but he just smirked and looked away towards the other side of the arena.

"This is Fireproof." Liam introduced the next song. The next few songs went by way too fast for my taste. Lily and I were having the time of our lives and our crazy dancing attracted the attention of the rest of the boys, especially during Midnight Memories. All of the boys kept coming over to our section and especially Louis tried to spend a bit more time near our section, probably liking the fact that we were enjoying ourselves so much.

I was fighting my emotions during "Don't Forget Where You Belong" because it had been a special song for me and Lily when I had spent a semester in New Zealand. She held my hand during the whole song and Louis who seemed to have noticed that I was a bit emotional pulled a funny face in our direction. He was such a goofball, but so kind at the same time.

Due to some technical problems we got a sneak peak of their new song "Infinity" and I swear the whole arena was about to faint from the excitement.

"Little Things" left me a sobbing mess. I had fallen in love with the song the first time I heard it and it had been my favourite song ever since, helping me through the most difficult times of my life. Lily hugged me the whole time and I held onto her as if I was drowning and she was my life line. Harry who was sitting on our side shot me a concerned look and tried to make me smile. I gave him a weak smile in return and dried my tears, trying to keep it together.

The rest of the concert was like a never ending One Direction party and I enjoyed every single second of it, trying to forget my little break down during "Little Things". The boys sang Happy Birthday to a lucky fan who just happened to stand right behind me and cracked a couple of more or less inappropriate jokes.

"You and I" was another special song for Lily and me because it had been the very first One Direction song that she had liked and Louis, who saw that she was emotional, tried to cheer her up after the song had finished and missed the first part of his solo of "Through The Dark". I playfully shook my head at him and gave him a disappointed look. In return he stuck out his tongue at me and then proceed down the catwalk towards the other end of the stage.

At one point, Lilly and I had a laughing fit because of Harry's golden boots. It took us a whole song to calm down again. He saw us laughing and asked through his microphone what we girls were laughing about. "Your shoes." I managed to squeeze out in between laughing. He pouted. "I happen to wear very pretty shoes, thank you very much." That made the other three boys laugh as well. "You really do have a very unique taste in shoes, mate." said Liam with chuckle. "But unique doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad, Liam." Harry replied and acted as if he was offended. "It does if we're talking about your shoes." Louis piped in and the whole arena erupted in laughter. Harry dramatically flipped his hair over his shoulder and strode towards the other end of the stage. "Anyway, this is Diana."

The encore was amazing. The energy was still going high and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Louis chose the short break before the last two songs to thank the crowd who obviously didn't want this show to ever end (including the two of us). "London, you have been incredible and exactly what we needed." and everyone cheered and clapped.

We even sang and danced along to "What Makes You Beautiful" even though Lily and I both thought that the song was a bit overplayed and cheered at Liam and Louis during their water fight. Louis, being the little cheeky lad that he is, purposely threw some water in our direction and got me a little bit wet for which I flipped him off.

When the boys had disappeared backstage, Lily and I looked at each other. "We did it. We managed to survive our first One Direction show." I said to her and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you so much for bringing me with you. Best night of my life. Even tops Maroon Five." she replied and squeezed me back. My phone vibrated, indicating that I had received a new text.

My Cool Best Friend: Hi love, I hope you enjoyed the show. I sent someone to get you two, just stay where you are. xx

I showed the text to Lily who squealed. "Oh my God, this is happening. I'm gonna meet them. I need to stay calm, I need to stay calm, I need to stay ca-" She was interrupted by a security guy who had walked over to us. "Claire and Lily?" he asked us and when we nodded he motioned us to follow him to a side door. Next to me, Lily was trembling and I grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze which she returned. The guard led us through a maze of corridors and then stopped in front of a door that said "Sarah's kitchen". "They should be in there." After we both had thanked him, I lifted my hand and knocked on the door.


	8. Paparazzi Or How Niall Became My New Best Friend

We waited a couple of seconds, Lily nearly breaking the bones of my right hand in the meantime. Then the door swung open and Louis stood in the door. "Claire!" he exclaimed and pulled me into a tight hug. "Louis!" I said equally excited and returned the hug. He smelled so good and I had totally forgotten how good his hugs felt. He pulled away, but didn't let go of me completely. "It's good to see you, love." he said with a wide smile. "It's good to see you, too, Lou."

Then he looked over at Lily and gave her a friendly smile. "And you must be Lily, Claire's other best friend." he said with a cheeky smile. Lily acted offended. "You mean, her ONLY best friend." Lily replied, tugged at my arm and playfully glared at him. I cleared my throat. "Guys, I think I can decide for myself who is my best friend, but thank you for your concern."

Harry chose this very moment to join our conversation. "Surely we can all agree that I am Claire's best friend. Isn't that so, love?" He smiled down at me and his dimples appeared. Next to me, you could hear a faint whimper from Lily.

Harry pulled me into a hug and swayed me a bit from side to side. Then he turned to Lily who stood next to me and Louis. "And you must be Lily, Claire's friend." Lily nodded and held out her hand, but Harry just pulled her into a hug. "You really do give very good hugs." Lily blurted out and blushed lightly. Harry chuckled and then turned to face me again. "So... Claire. Who is your best friend now?" he asked with a smirk.

I glared at him. "Well it's definitely not you." I said. "Ha!" Louis shouted and gave Harry a triumphant smile. "Well it isn't you either." I said directed at him and he pouted. "It can only be me anyway." said Lily. "I am definitely the best option here." She put her arm around my shoulder but I shook it off. "Actually, I have decided that Niall is my new best friend." I grabbed Niall, who happened to be walking into the room in that moment and pulled him over.

"Claire! It's good to see you." he said with a bright smile which I returned. "It's good to see you too, bestie." I said and put an arm around his waist. "See guys, now Niall is my best friend. We have a lot in common, you see? We both love food and music and golfing." Lily snorted. "You don't like golf. You keep saying that it isn't really a sport." Niall looked down at me in disbelief. "Is that so Claire? I don't know if we can be best friends if you don't appreciate the art of golfing, love." I looked up at him with my best puppy eyes. "Oh Nialler, I am sure if we went on a little golfing adventure I would love golf just as much as you do." He looked down at me for a few second while the rest looked at us expectantly. "Oh alright. I'll be your best friend." he gave in. I cheered and did a little happy dance. Everyone except for Lily, who was used to my weirdness, starred at me like I was mental. I stopped. "Sorry." I looked down at the floor.

"She is a bit of a weirdo." Lily explained to the others in a hushed whisper. "Am not!" I protested. "Oh don't deny it, Claire. You are a weirdo, but that's why I love you." She pulled me into a side hug. The others awed and then we all erupted in laughter.

"Soooo, the night is still young. We were planning on heading out to a club or a bar to celebrate the start of the UK leg. Are you guys in?" Louis asked, looking at me expectantly. Lily and I exchanged looks. "We are so in." I said with a wide grin and the boys cheered. "Then we're off to the cars." Louis said and threw an arm around my shoulder. "Oi, Liam! Sandy! We're off! You guys coming?" Louis shouted over his shoulder. A couple of seconds later Liam and Sandy appeared next to Harry and Louis started dragging me towards the exit. I threw a look over my shoulder and said hi to Liam and Sandy. Lily seemed to having a great time chatting to Niall and Harry and gave me thumbs up when she saw me looking at her. I turned my head back and looked up at Louis who was smiling down at me. "You alright, love?" he asked. "Never been better." I replied with a wide grin and he squeezed my shoulder and then took my hand into his, pulling me into one of the waiting cars.

We ended up taking to separate cars because we were too many to fit into one. Louis, Harry, Lily and I hopped into the first car and Sandy, Liam and Niall into the second one. "I'll see you in the club, bestie!" Niall shouted at me before a security guard closed their door. I chuckled and leaned back in my seat. I was squeezed in between Louis and Lily while Harry was sitting in the front next to the driver.

"So, where exactly are we going?" I asked Louis curiously. "I think it's either gonna be The Funky Bhudda or The Box because it's Liam's turn to choose tonight. Their car goes first so we'll just be following them." My stomach did a somersault. Lily and I had imagined going clubbing with One Direction in the Funky Bhudda for years now. Harry turned his head around to face us. "Have you guys ever been?" he asked. Lily shook her head. "We've always wanted to but we never really got the chance. We usually go to smaller clubs when we go out." Harry smiled. "I'm sure you guys will have a great time. We'll take care of you." he said with a wink. "Why thank you, Harry." I said with a grin. "We will probably be looking more after you than ourselves." I said and Harry stuck his tongue out at me and turned back to continue his conversation with the driver.

Louis, Lily and I continued chatting among ourselves until the car came to a stop. "Aaaaand, we have arrived." Louis exclaimed excitedly and opened the door. He held out his hand for me and helped me out of the car, while Harry helped Lily out. Louis, however, didn't let go of my hand. Suddenly we heard the fast clicking of cameras and the four of us were blinded by flashes.   
Louis cursed under his breath and pulled me closer to him. The others, who had just arrived as well, helped him and Harry to shield us from the paparazzi. I kept my head down and tightly held onto Louis' hand while Niall had an arm around my waist shielding me from behind. Liam, Harry and Sandy had taken Lily into their middle and we safely made our way into the club. Louis guided us upstairs into a VIP area.

"Are you okay, love?" He shot me a concerned look and the others looked very concerned at me as well. That's when I noticed that I was shaking violently, tightly holding on to Louis' hand who pulled me into a hug. "Shhhhh, Claire. You are okay. You are safe now. They can't get in." It took me a couple of minutes to calm down again. Louis kept me in his arms, gently stroking my back. After a bit, I pulled back.

"Oh God, I am so sorry. I just... I hate crowds and I wasn't expecting that. I completely forgot that you guys are famous. It won't happen again, I swear." I apologised. Louis tilted up my head and made me look him in the eyes. "Hey, no need to apologise, okay? We were all scared at the beginning. Niall still hates them. No one is blaming you."

We all sat down around the tables while Liam and Sandy had gone off to get some drinks. Lily who was sitting next to me gave my hand a light squeeze and I squeezed back, silently telling her that I was fine. We chatted a bit, but it was difficult to have a proper conversation over the loud music. Louis yet had to let go of my hand, not that I was complaining or anything, and I leaned my head on his shoulder, trying to fight another panic attack.

"We are baaaaaack!" Liam shouted and he and Sandy approached us both with a tray full of shots and a selection of drinks and cocktails each, providing the perfect distraction from my panic. "Now, let's get this party started!" Niall cheered and we all grabbed a shot and clinked our glassed together. "To a successful UK tour!" shouted Sandy. "And to new friendships!" added Harry and winked at me.


	9. Blue Eyes Or How I Went Clubbing With One Direction

The night was a great success. After we had done a few rounds of shots we were all slightly drunk and ready to dance. I dragged Louis and Harry onto the dance floor and Lily grabbed Liam and Niall. We had lost Sandy at the bar where he had run into an old friend.

I could feel the beat pumping through my body while I moved to the fast beat of the music. We all danced together as a group and kept laughing at each other. After a few minutes, Harry took my hand and started spinning me around while the rest of the group cheered and laughed.

He was a great dancer and I enjoying myself immensely. "Are you feeling better now?" he shouted into my hear, after he had somehow managed to make me crash into him. I nodded and gave him a smile while trying to resist the urge to let my hand run up and down his chest.

Alcohol always made me lose any barriers that I might have had under other circumstances and unfortunately also made Harry Styles seem even more God-like than he usually was.

His hair was hanging around his face in messy curls and his black silk shirt was sticking to his body because of the heat. I gave myself a mental kick and kept on dancing until an accidental twirl made me let go of Harry's hand and crash into Louis. "OMG, I am sorry!" I shouted into his ear. "It's all Harry's fault, I swear!" I turned around to Harry who stuck out his tongue at me and shouted something that sounded like he was going to get another drink. Louis just laughed and playfully shook his head at me.

"You just seem to love feel me up, don't you, love? Otherwise you wouldn't keep crashing into me all the bloody time." He grinned down at me and gave me one of his cheeky winks. I playfully shoved him a bit which made him stumble and he grabbed onto me for support. That was probably a bad idea because I wasn't exactly sober either and so we clung onto each other for support, both giggling at our clumsiness. "We are so drunk." I giggled and held onto Louis' shoulders for support, while his hands were resting on my waist.

He looked down at me and I immediately got lost in his blue eyes. They were so blue. My pondering about how eyes could be so incredibly blue was cut short when Louis said something. "What did you say?" I asked him. "I said you look beautiful when you laugh."

My heart seemed to skip not only one, but at least three beats, and then continued to beat twice as fast as it had been before Louis had made that comment. I blushed crimson red which luckily wasn't very obvious under the dancing lights of the club.

I didn't dare to look anywhere near Louis' eyes but he took my chin in between his fingers and tilted it up so that I had to face him. "No need to hide, Claire. I meant what I said." He smiled and then pulled me closer to him.

I could spot Lily in the crowd, dancing with Niall and Liam looking happier than I had seen her in a long time. Then all that my mind and body could focus on was Louis. We were moving in sync, our bodies very much intertwined and I felt more alive than ever.

We danced like this for a few songs before we both decided that we had had enough dancing and were in desperate need of a drink. We returned to our previous table which was now occupied by Sandy, Harry and a guy that I didn't know, who was most likely Sandy's friend.

"Having fun, I see." Sandy commented with a look towards our intertwined fingers. I blushed a bit and tried to let go of Louis' hand but he only tightened his grip.

We sat down opposite Harry who looked a bit sad. "Hey, are you okay, Harry?" I asked him with a concerned look. "I'm fine." came the answer, but I wasn't convinced. "You sure?" I asked and he gave me just a weak smile and turned away to talk to Sandy and his friend again. Louis gave my hand a light squeeze and then got up to get another round of drinks after asking what everyone wanted.

I leaned over the table and tapped Harry's arm. He looked up and raised one eyebrow at me, silently asking what I wanted. "Why didn't you join us again on the dance floor after you had finished your drink?" I asked him. "Well you seemed to have a lot of fun without me." he replied and then added. "You and Lou are getting along pretty well, hm?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I blushed again. I definitely needed to work on that. If I kept blushing like that I could get in serious trouble someday, but who could blame me? I was drunk and surrounded by a bunch of the most beautiful and attractive lads worldwide who also happened to be incredibly kind and funny at the same time. Anyone would blush at that. At least that's what I kept telling myself. Harry send a cheeky grin my way before he shifted his concentration back to his previous conversation and I was left with my own drunk thoughts.

When Louis returned with our drinks a few minutes later, Harry looked up and smirked at me, while making a very obvious movement with his hand. I glared at him and hoped that Louis hadn't seen the gesture. We all took our drinks and chatted a bit more over the loud music.

After another ten minutes or so, Liam, Niall and Lily came back up to us as well and Lily literally fell into the seat next to me. "I am so dead. These two are really keeping me on my toes." She gestured towards Liam and Niall who were grinned and Niall winked at her. "You are a fabulous dancer my dear." he complimented her and Lily blushed. "And you, my little leprechaun, are drunk."

Niall, who had had a lot more to drink earlier that evening couldn't really deny that so he shrugged and lazily laid an arm around Lily's shoulders. "But I am a very happy drunk man, that's for sure." he said proudly. "No one's doubting that Niall." said Harry, the amusement evident in his deep voice.

Lily giggled next to me and leaned over to whisper something in my ear. "This is the best night of my entire life." She kissed my cheek and then stole my drink from my hands and downed the rest of it. After my protest she send me an apologetic look and then started a conversation with Niall and Liam.

Louis who had seen her, pushed his drink into my direction, offering me to take a sip of his if I was still thirsty. I happily took a sip, trying to ignore the fact that Louis' lips had just been at the very same spot seconds before. I really needed to get a grip of myself. With the mood I was in now, I would either jump Louis or one of the others very soon or do something equally embarrassing which I didn't even want to think about any further.

The night went on and we spent it either drinking and chatting or dancing on the dance floor. At three thirty am, we all stumbled out of the club, me hiding underneath Harry's coat which he had insisted on lending me to shield me from the "mean people with the flashlights" as he had put it. We got two taxis and after a bit of discussion ended up at Louis' place where we all crashed in random rooms.

The last thing I thought before I drifted off to sleep was that the bed I was lying in was incredibly comfortable and that it smelled suspiciously like someone I knew.


	10. Hangovers Or How I Ended Up In Louis Tomlinson's Closet

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I noticed was that it was very hot and that my head felt like it was about to explode. I opened my eyes a little bit and saw a naked chest in front of me. I tried to remember what had happened last night, but it was all a bit of a blur. I blinked a couple of times and tried to adjust to the bright sun light that was streaming through the window.

Wait a second, I knew that chest. It had a two of very familiar tattoos on. I immediately checked how many clothes I was wearing and discovered that I was only in my underwear. I silently cursed under my breath. "Fuck."

Next to me I heard a low chuckle. "That's not a very nice way to say good morning, love." I tilted my head and saw Louis grinning down at me. One of his arms was wrapped around my waist and he seemed very content with the position we were in. I lightly slapped his chest and he laughed. "Oh, shut up. My head hurts." I groaned and buried myself deeper in the duvet. "How did we end up together in what I presume is your bed?" I asked him from underneath the duvet.

His chest vibrated from laughter. "Oh don't you remember last night, Claire? I am a bit disappointed. I thought we had something special here." I stuck my head out of my duvet tent and glared at him. "Oh very funny, Lou, really funny. What happened?" He shook his head at me. "You are grumpy when you're hungover." he commented. I send him another glare.

"Okay, fine. Nothing happened. We were both drunk, you a bit more than me, and when we came back to my house you REALLY wanted to go to bed and you also REALLY wanted me or Harry because of, and I quote, "his beautiful fluffy hair" to help you into bed. Harry was probably even more drunk than you were, so I put him into bed and then helped you. You were struggling with your dress so I helped you out of it." He shot me a smug look and I blushed deeply as he continued. "Then you literally begged me to stay with you, and who am I to turn down such a beautiful woman like yourself?" he asked me and squeezed my waist a little bit.

I shoved his hand of my body and he pouted. I ignored the compliment he had just given me and simply focused on trying to process what had happened last night. "I did NOT beg." I protested. Louis laughed. "Oh you SO did, love." I groaned and buried myself a bit deeper underneath the duvet. Suddenly I felt myself getting sick, so I threw off the duvet much to Louis' protest and made a dash towards his bathroom, completely ignoring my lack of clothing.

I made it just barely to the loo before I emptied the contents of my stomach. I felt someone pulling back my hair and one hand gently stroking my back. "Let it all out, Claire." Louis' voice said behind me. After I was finished he helped me up and I moved over to the sink to rinse my mouth. "I am so sorry you had to witness that." I apologised, but Louis reassured me that it was fine. "At least this way I got to see you in your underwear again." he said with a wink and I hit his chest which felt amazing under my hand and I let it rest there a bit longer than necessary. Of course he noticed that and his eyes met mine in a very intense gaze.

The door swung open and Liam stood in the door, looking a bit surprised to have caught the two of us half naked in the bathroom. "It's not what it looks like!" I blurted out and I don't think I have ever blushed so much in my entire life. I tried to bring as much space between me and Louis as possible in the bathroom while Liam sent Louis a questioning glance. Louis feigned to be hurt and put his hand on his chest that I had been touching just seconds before. "You really know how to hurt a man's feelings, Claire." he said.

I turned to Liam. "I swear nothing happened. I was super drunk last night and somehow we ended up in the same bed and now I just, um, threw up and Louis helped me." Liam didn't look convinced. "Alright, I'll believe you for now. Um, would you mind leaving because I really need to use the bathroom as well." he said and I pretty much ran out of the bathroom back into Louis' bedroom, Louis hot on my heels.

"You seem quite eager to get back into my bed." Louis said from behind me and shut the door. "Oh you know it." I said and winked at him. Two could play that game, Tomlinson. He seemed surprised by my reaction but he quickly recovered and took two big steps in my direction. From the corner of my eye I spotted my dress lying on the floor next to Louis' bed. I raised my hand, quickly ruffled his hair, picked up my dress with the other hand and then dashed towards a door which after opening it turned out to be a walk-in closet. However that didn't made me hesitate and I run into to the closet and slammed the door shut, leaning my full weight against it.

I heard Louis on the other side of the door, both of us breathing heavily. I really needed to work out a bit more, but I loved food and wasn't really fond of exercise. Luckily I belonged to those kind of people who could eat a lot of food, but didn't put on a lot of weight. My mum often joked that I had some kind of alien in my stomach. I simply called it a fast metabolism.

I heard Louis' muffled voice through the wooden door. "You can't stay in there all day, Claire. You have to come out at some point." I knew that and I had yet to come with a solution to that problem, but he couldn't know that.

"I am giving you two minutes to come out by your own Claire and then I'm coming in." he threatened me. "Why the two minutes?" I asked him through the door. There was a short pause and I heard him open a drawer. "That's how long it takes me to get dressed into something comfortable, which brings me to the topic. Your dress, as amazing as it looks on you, can't be very comfortable to wear. If you come out after two minutes, I will lend you some clothes from me. Otherwise I can't guarantee a thing." He sounded quite pleased with himself for coming up with this idea.

I thought hard. I really didn't want to put the dress on again which, as Louis had noticed so well, was very pretty but not very comfortable. On the other hand I also didn't want to give into Louis and let him get another good look of me in my underwear. It was bad enough that he already had had the chance to check me out and Liam had seen my half naked as well.

"Okay, love. The two minutes are up. Sooo, what is it gonna be, Claire? Will you come out on your own or will I have to get you?" I didn't move. "Alright, I warned you."

The two of us were pressing against the door from both sides and I knew that I didn't have a chance against Louis so I did the only thing that came to my mind. I screamed for help. A few seconds later I heard Louis' door open and a very tired sounding Harry asked what the heck was going on. "Nothing, Harry. Claire and I are just having a little disagreement."

"Wait, Claire is the closet? How did that happen?" Harry asked confused. "She tricked me and then run in there to hide from me." Louis explained to him. "Why would she hide from you?" Harry asked even more confused. "I am only in my underwear, Harry." I explained from inside the closet and was very grateful that he couldn't see me. "Do I want to know how that happened?" asked Harry and there was something in his tone that I couldn't quite name. He sounded exhausted and kind of, I don't know, sad?

"I was drunk last night, nothing happened." I tried to assure him. "That's what she said." Louis piped in. "Oh shut up, Louis. Trust me, Harry, nothing happened. He is just being mean to get me out of here." I leaned my head against the door and sighed. "I will take Claire's word over yours, Louis." Harry said. Louis protested and reminded him that they were basically brothers and then, after Harry didn't change his mind, huffed something about how their friendship wasn't what it used to be.

"Now will you please let her out of your closet and maybe give her some comfortable clothes to change into?" Harry asked Louis who groaned and mumbled something that sounded like "such a spoilsport" under his breath and the left the room.

There was a knock on the door. "Claire?" Harry's beautiful deep voice asked from the other side of the door. I hummed. "Louis put some clothes on his bed, we'll wait for you in the kitchen." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Thanks, Harry. I owe you one." I said and got up from my spot on the floor in front of the door. "No problem, love. I'll meet you in the kitchen." I heard him shuffle and then the door closed leaving me alone in Louis Tomlinson's closet, only wearing my underwear and wondering how the hell I had gotten myself into this situation.


	11. Pancake Fights Or How I Found Out That Louis Likes Me

After I had gotten changed into Louis' clothes, I hesitantly opened the door and made my way towards the kitchen, but before I had reached the kitchen door, Niall and Lily stepped out of one of the guest rooms at the end of the hallway. When Lily saw me she blushed deeply and murmured something about needing to use the bathroom in which she disappeared almost instantly. Niall, on the other hand, grinned at me and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair. "Morning, Claire." he said with a bright smile on his face. "How are ye feeling today?" He let his eyes wander up and down my body and then he smirked. "Aren't those Louis' clothes?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me. I sighed exasperated. "Yes, they are. And no, nothing happened, no matter what Louis will tell you." "Well, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today." Niall said and strolled passed me into the kitchen. After a few seconds I followed him.

"Well, good morning, sunshine." Louis greeted me like I hadn't just spent some time hiding in his closet half-naked. I ignored him and gratefully accepted the mug with coffee Harry handed me. I slumped down into the chair between Harry and Liam who shot me an amused look. "Still hungover, Claire? I thought you might be feeling a bit better after your little trip to the bathroom this morning." he joked. I glared at him and Louis, who was sitting opposite me, chuckled. "Is there anything funny about me throwing up in your bathroom, Tomlinson?" I asked him and he shook his head, but kept smirking at me.

Next to me, Harry snorted into his coffee. I elbowed him and he pretended to be in excruciating pain. "Oh suck it up, Styles." I grumbled. He stopped and looked down at me with a twinkle in his eyes. "We shouldn't let you get drunk very often, love. You seem to be very grumpy when you're hungover." I ignored him and reached past him for a pancake someone kindly had made, but was stopped by Niall's hand.

"Oi, I was about to take that pancake!" I defended my pancake. Niall shook his head. "No, it was definitely MY pancake." We had a starring contest and I gave him my best puppy eyes. "Oh, okay, fine. You can have the last pancake." Niall gave in and I cheered and happily placed the pancake on my plate. "Wow, that's a first." commented Harry. "Our little Nialler here usually doesn't share food." Niall only nodded as he was too busy stuffing his face with bacon and toast. "Maybe it's because we are besties now." I said and smiled down happily at my pancake.

"Would this be the perfect moment to tell you that we still have a couple of pancakes left?" asked Liam and laughed when he saw our surprised, but happy faces. "They are in the oven so they won't get cold." Louis and I pushed back our chairs at the same time. He shot up and made a run for the oven. When he was next to me, I stuck out my foot and he stumbled and fell down to my feet as everyone rolled in laughter.

Louis groaned loudly and I started to feel bad for him, so I got up and leaned over him. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked in between giggles. He groaned again and I leaned down a bit further, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Lou?" Suddenly, he turned around and snatched me by my waist, making me crash on top of him. Our faces were only inches apart and we were both breathing heavily. His eyes were mesmerizing and I couldn't look away. However, the sound of the others howling and whistling brought me back to reality and I blushed madly and quickly attempted to climb off Louis.

Lily chose that exact moment to enter the kitchen. "What the hell is going on in here?" she asked and looked from me and Louis on the floor to the others who were laughing at us. I quickly got up, brushed some imaginary dust off my clothes and avoided looking at anybody. Louis was grinning widely, obviously very pleased with his successful prank. Whistling, he made his way towards the oven and pulled out a new stash of pancakes.

I sat back down and continued eating my pancake while Niall pulled back a chair for Lily who blushed a bit, muttered a thanks and hastily purred herself some coffee into a mug. I felt Harry's eyes on me and looked up. When our eyes met he immediately looked away from me and started chatting with Lily who seemed grateful for any distraction. I shot Niall a questioning look and shot a quick glance at Lily, but he just shrugged and lightly shook his head. This caught my curiosity. I really needed to have a chat with Lily later, but I didn't want to embarrass her any further in front of the boys, so I dropped it for now.

"Where is Sandy?" I asked Liam. "He went home around two. He even said goodbye to us. Do you really remember so little from last night?" he asked me, amusement evident in his voice. I blushed a little. "I might have had a little bit too much to drink last night, especially during the second half of the night." I admitted sheepishly and continued to munch on my pancake.

Something hit me at the head and I looked up. Louis was silently laughing at me, while trying to look as innocent as possible. "Did you just THROW some pancake at me?" I asked him angrily which caught the attention of the rest of the table. "No." he said in a tone that was supposed to sound very innocent, but which didn't fool me in the slightest. "So you are telling me that a piece of pancake just happened to fly across the table and hit me against the head out of nowhere?"

Harry next to me was shaking with silent laughter and Niall had stopped eating. "No." Louis said again and grinned at me. "Then how did the piece of pancake hit me?" I asked him with a hint of irritation in my voice. Louis thought for a bit and his eyes wandered along the table. "Um, Lily threw it." he said accusingly. Lily threw him a look. "Don't pull me into this, Tomlinson." She glared at him and Louis hastily avoided her intense gaze.

"Time to intervene again" I thought to myself. "I think we should settle this with a vote." I suggested and Louis agreed, obviously sure that he would win this. I cleared my throat. "Everyone who thinks that Louis purposely threw some pancake at me, please raise your hand now." I said and quickly raised my hand. Everyone accept for Louis followed my example and raised their hands. Louis pouted and I did a little happy dance on my chair in celebration.

"Soooooo... such behaviour obviously must be punished." I said in a thoughtful tone and pretended to stroke my non-existent beard. "Any ideas? Anyone?" I asked the others. "How about...", Liam started and everyone turned their heads towards him, "Louis has to take you out on a date?" Liam suggested with a mischievous grin in Louis and mine' direction.

"No. No way." I started to protest, my face red like a tomato. "Not gonna happen. Didn't you see the way he just treated me?" I asked him indignantly. Liam nodded, but didn't suggest anything else. "I am not going out on a date with him." I repeated. Louis chuckled. "Come on, Claire. We all know that you are secretly in love me. After all you spent a wonderful night in my bed with me." he said with a smug look on his face. Lily's head shot up and she shot me a look, wiggling her eyebrows. "For the last time, NOTHING happened." I said and threw my hands up in the air. Niall started laughing and I flipped him off. He put a hand over his heart, but continued eating.

"Maybe we should come up with some other way to punish Louis." said Harry's deep voice next to me and I could have kissed him for his suggestion. It wasn't like I didn't like Louis or that I had never thought about him in any romantic way, but I didn't want us to go on a date because of a stupid prank that had backfired.

"Aaaah, Prince Harry to the rescue." Louis mocked and I could hear a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Come on, Louis, don't get your knickers in a twist." Liam tried to ease the tension he had created. "How about the next time we go out, you buy Claire a drink and then it's settled." Louis looked like he was about to protest but with a glance at my pleading eyes he changed his mind and grumpily agreed. "Fine." he huffed and got up. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll go and take a shower." He put his plate into the dishwasher and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the rest of us a bit shocked at his sudden change of mood.

"He'll get over it." said Niall and gave me a reassuring look. "I don't know. Maybe I should go and talk to him?" I asked and was about to get up when I felt a hand on my shoulder that stopped me. "I'll go. It's my fault anyway." said Harry and he got up and followed Louis out of the kitchen. We sat in silence for a bit, finishing our breakfast, but I couldn't stand the thought of Louis being mad at me. "I'll go and apologise." I said and left the kitchen on the search for Louis and Harry. When I walked past Loui's room I heard them arguing and stopped, trying to listen in on their conversation. I knew you weren't supposed to do that but I couldn't help myself.

"Why the fuck did you say that, Harry?" I heard Louis' angry voice through the door. "Are you jealous, mate? Do you want to have Claire all for yourself?" I heard Harry sighed. "Shut up, Louis. You know that's not why I said it." Louis huffed loudly. "Oh, yeah? You sure? Because you always seem to be the first one to jump to her rescue." Harry groaned.

"That's bullshit, Louis, and you know it. Even if I had feelings for Claire I would never act on them because you are my best friend and I would never go for a girl that you like, okay? I only said it because I knew that Claire wouldn't want to go out on a date with you like that. She didn't want it to be the result of a stupid prank, but only because you like her and would like to take her out on a date. Claire is special, Louis. She deserves to be asked properly and not like that." There was a long silence, then Louis spoke. "You are right. Claire is special. I just overreacted. I am sorry, mate"

Outside in the hall way, my heart was beating so loudly I was sure it could be heard through the door and I nearly missed what Louis said next. "I just really like her and I want her to like me back but I don't know how to ask her on a date. She's different, Harry, I don't want to mess this up." I nearly fainted. Harry thought I was special. Louis LIKED me. ME. He thought I was special. Holy shit. What should I do next? I had never wanted to date a celebrity ever, but Louis... Louis was special. He was this amazing guy and I didn't know how much longer I would be able to resist him. I silently made my way to the bathroom and sprayed some water in face to cool me down.

There was a knock on the door. "Claire?" came Louis' voice through the bathroom door. "Are you in there?" I hastily dried my face with a towel and opened the door. Louis stood there, freaking shirtless of course, with a set of new clothes in his left hand. "Are you okay, love?" he asked me and I could only nod because I seemed to had lost my voice at the view of his shirtless torso and his low hanging jeans. "You sure? You are a bit red in the face." That's because of you being shirtless, you idiot! I screamed at him in my head, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was. "Your towels are super fluffy." and then I stormed out of the bathroom, leaving a very confused Louis behind.


	12. Weird Noises Or How Louis Tomlinson Ended Up In My Flat

Back in Louis room, I nearly crashed into Harry who had stood behind the door. "Whoa there, easy, love." I stumbled a bit, but he caught me, both of his hands lying on my waist. "Are you okay?" I nodded and he quickly let go of me, as if I had burned him, and took a couple of steps back. "I'm fine, Harry." I said in a monotone, slightly shaky voice that probably wouldn't have even convinced my dead hamster.

I started looking for my purse which I had seen somewhere in Louis' room earlier that morning and tried to ignore Harry who was still standing by the door. "Claire?" I heard Harry's voice behind me. I didn't turn around. A few seconds later, I felt a hand on my shoulder and Harry turned me around so I had to face him. "Hey, what happened?" He gently pushed a loose strand of hair out of my face and my stomach flipped a bit. He was Harry Styles after all and my inner fangirl wasn't completely immune to him.

I desperately tried to avoid looking at him and instead inspected my nails which definitely needed a trim very soon or I wouldn't be able to play my guitar or my violin anymore. "I already told you I am fine, Harry." He sighed and I could feel his breath fan over my face. "And I know that you're lying, Claire. Look, I'm not gonna push it- it's your decision whether or not to tell me what's bugging you, but I just want you to know that you can talk to me about anything no matter what, okay? I'm here for you if you need someone who will listen to you."

My heart melted. Harry was probably the kindest person I had ever met. It was insane how he was constantly being portrayed as the heartless player by the media. I finally managed to properly look at him and saw that his beautiful green eyes were filled with concern. "Thank you, Harry. That really means a lot to me." I told him and gave him a small smile. His dimples appeared and he pulled me into a quick hug, but again let go off me very quickly. Weird. I brushed it off and picked up my purse which I had finally spotted on Louis' chest of drawers. God knows how it had ended up there.

"Are you leaving already?" asked Harry and I nodded. "Yes, I, um, need to get home. I have a report to write." I told him and picked up my dress as well. "Aren't you at least gonna wait 'til Louis is finished with his shower?" he asked me and my heart skipped a beat at the mention of Louis' name. "No, really, I gotta go. But can you please tell him that I will return his clothes to him during the next few days?" I asked him and he nodded, still confused about my sudden desire to leave. "Sure." There was an awkward silence. "Okay, um... I think I'm off then." I said and awkwardly waved and made my way towards the door.

"Wait!" said Harry behind me. "I'll walk you to the door." With a few big steps he was at my side and opened the door for me, following me towards the kitchen where I said goodbye to the others. Lily was pretty much sitting on Niall's lab by that point and blushed deeply when she saw my questioning look. "It was great to see you again, love." said Liam and gave me a friendly hug. "We definitely have to repeat this sometime soon." I grinned at him and then turned to face Niall.

"Goodbye, bestie." I gave him a one sided hug. I gave Claire a hug as well and a kiss on the cheek. "We'll talk later." I whispered in her ear and she pulled a face at me and messed up my hair. With a last wave at the others, I quickly made my way towards the front door and put on my sneakers that I had worn with my dress last night. I was desperate to get out of the flat before Louis emerged from the bathroom. When I was finished, Harry held out my jacket for me and helped me into it. There was a short silence. "I gotta go now, but I'm sure I'll see you around." He smiled at me and pulled me into a quick hug and I felt his lips brush against my hair. "Goodbye, Claire. Don't be a stranger."

Back home, the first thing I did was make myself a good cuppa tea. I needed to think. I turned my phone off, not wanting to be disturbed and picked up my guitar. I strummed it a few times and then got up to get a small notebook in which I was collecting the stuff I had written. I mainly wrote poems and short texts, but I had written some songs as well. They were very personal and no one had ever heard them. I had let Lily read some of them but even she had never heard them as I wasn't the most gifted singer out there, unlike my new friends.

I hummed to myself, scribbling down words from time to time and trying some new chords. After about an hour I had written a new song which I was reasonably happy with and put the guitar away. I went back into the kitchen, cleaning my used mug and grabbed an apple. Since I had had breakfast not too long ago, I wasn't very hungry, so I plopped down on my sofa and turned on my TV. Some weird reality show was on, and as much as I usually despised these shows, I needed to watch something that made me feel better about myself.

I made myself comfortable and must have dosed off for a bit because the ringing of the doorbell made me jump so hard that I literally fell off my sofa. I hit my head on my coffee table. "Ouch." I cursed loudly and scrambled to my feet, nearly crashing into my bookshelf on the way into the hallway. I waddled towards the door and opened it without bothering to check the peephole first, something that I regretted instantly when I saw who was standing outside my door.

Louis was smiling down at me, mildly amused by my current state and obviously pleased that I was still wearing his clothes. To my defence, they were extremely comfortable and smelled so nice that I hadn't been able to bring myself to take them off.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him and squinted my eyes at him. I run my hand through my hair and internally screamed at myself for not checking myself in the mirror before opening the door because my hair felt like birds had lived in there.

"Well, Claire, I had to talk to you after you fled my house and as you aren't answering your phone, I didn't really have another choice." I blushed at his words and opened the door a bit more, letting him squeeze passed me into the tiny flat that Lily and I were sharing.

"Nice flat." He commented as he took off his shoes and let his eyes wander over the photos I had put up on the walls. Most of them were of Lily and me or our families. "Thanks." I said quietly, trying to get over the fact that Louis Tomlinson was standing in my hallway. He looked very much out of place.

"Ummm... would you like a cup of tea?" I asked him and when he nodded I walked over to the kitchen, Louis hot on my heels. While I made Louis some tea, I was nervously tapping my fingers on the counter top until Louis' hand stopped me. I blushed and looked up at him.

"What's going on Claire? Why did you flee my house earlier while I was in the shower? Did I do something wrong?" he asked and I could see confusion and hurt in his eyes which made me feel even worse about myself.

"No, Louis, you didn't do anything wrong! I...I just..." but I didn't really know how to explain how I had felt when I had overheard him earlier. I took a deep breath. In that moment, a loud groan which was followed by high pitched screams could be heard from my living room. Louis shot me a bewildered look. "Do you have anyone in your living room, love?" I froze and then it hit me and I burst out laughing.

"It's the telly." I said in-between giggles which made Louis even more confused. "Your telly is making noises like that?" he asked. "What the fuck are you watching?" That made me giggle even more and I started to explain how I normally hated reality TV and why I had watched it earlier. "I fell asleep watching it and you woke me up so I don't really know what's on right now. We can find out if you want though." I offered and Louis made his way towards the living room while I finished off his tea. From the hallway I heard him say "Our conversation isn't over yet, Claire." and I knew that he wasn't talking about the TV programme anymore.


	13. Perfect Or How I Made Harry Styles Laugh

Louis and I ended up watching TV for a bit, but when the programme was over I knew I couldn't avoid the dreaded conversation any longer. Louis turned off the TV. "Sooo... about earlier." He started and looked down at me, his face unreadable. I took a deep breath.

"Okay, here is the thing." My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking so I folded my fingers and hoped that he wouldn't notice my nervousness that way.

"After Harry had followed you out of the kitchen I felt really bad so I kind of followed him and started looking for you to apologise. Then, I, um, heard you two arguing and, um, the part where you said that you, well... that you kind of liked me and I didn't know how to react to that so I sort of didn't and fled into the bathroom. And then, when you were in the shower I just needed to get out of there, so I did?" I didn't dare to look at Louis the whole time and kept my head down, staring at my hands.

There was a long silence, then I heard a groan and which made me look up again. Louis had buried his face in his hands. When he re-emerged, he ran a hand through his fingers. "Shit, Claire. I am so sorry you head to hear that. I swear I didn't want you to find out like this." he started to ramble. "I overreacted this morning because I was jealous when I didn't even had the right to be jealous. And now you probably think that I am weird and if you don't want to hang out with me anymore I would totally get that because you made it pretty clear from the start that you are unsure about being seen with us and dating one of us is probably the last thing that you want and" But I interrupted him. "Louis." He looked up at me, his beautiful blue eyes filled with emotions.

"First of all, I have always thought that you are weird, but I kind of like that about you because it makes me feel more normal." I said with a grin and I saw a glimpse of a smile on Louis' face. I took another deep breath and then continued. "Look, here is the thing. I like you Louis, probably a lot more than I should. Even if I wanted to I probably couldn't stay away from you for a very long time." This time he really smiled. "It's just... I'm a it of a mess, Louis."

Louis opened his mouth to protest, but I held up my hand and continued. "No, seriously. I haven't had a boyfriend since school and it's been four years since I graduated. I am super busy with uni at the moment and you're constantly on tour or doing promo and even with the hiatus coming up, you'll still be touring for another month and then you'll be doing promo until December. I just don't know if now is the right time for us. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? It's not like I don't want to, um, try it like ever, but I don't think now is the best time."

It hurt me to see how disappointed Louis looked. "Lou?" I asked him after a few seconds. He hummed. "I really like you and I hate to disappoint you like this." He looked up. "Disappoint me? Claire, I am not disappointed in you. I am just annoyed that my job is keeping me from being with you. Don't get me wrong, I love my job because it's what I have always wanted to do and I love making music and making people happy, but in moments like these I just can't help and be a bit bitter about it. Do you know why Eleanor and I broke up?" he asked me and I shook my head.

I had never been one to investigate the boys' relationships and I don't even think Louis had ever talked about this publicly, but of course there had been a bunch of theories. But I didn't want to read them because A they were mostly wrong anyway, and B I always thought as long as they were happy, I was happy, too. "We didn't spend enough time together. I was always on tour and she was at uni and we hardly ever got to see each other and after a while the distance got too much." He looked completely broken, sitting there on my sofa, his hair messed up, his t-shirt crinkled. I pulled him into a hug. "It just sucks, you know?" he said into my shoulder. "I don't want to lose a second girl because of my job, Claire, I really don't." I hugged him a bit tighter. "You won't Louis." I assured him.

We stayed like this for a few minutes. After Louis had pulled back, he looked down at me, a cheeky smirk on his beautiful face. "Sooooo, does that mean that I won't get you back into my bed until next year?" I rolled my eyes and hit him with a pillow. "Oi! Don't get violent!" He hit me back and I squeaked and ducked.

"But all fun aside, Claire." Louis said in a very serious tone. "I am willing to wait for you. Maybe you could give us a chance in January? We could spend New Year's together and start into 2016 together?" he suggested. I smiled up at him. "Thank you, Louis. New Years sounds amazing." I thanked him and he smiled down at me, then his face split into a wide grin. "Now, would you mind explaining to me while you're still wearing my clothes?"

**********

The next two weeks I spent mostly at uni, in the library or at work while Louis and the rest of the boys were touring the country. Lily and I had talked and she had admitted that although her and Niall hadn't slept together, they had made out for a bit after we had returned from the club and he had asked her out on a date which she had agreed to. Unfortunately, they hadn't had the chance to go out yet and Niall, who according to Harry wanted it to be perfect, was planning on taking her out after tour had ended. They were constantly texting and it was kind of cute to see her blush every time she received a text from Niall. Louis and I had gone back to normal and were constantly teasing each other via text. He tried to call me every couple of days.

It was a Thursday and I was working late at the hotel again. I had kept my phone on silent for the duration of my shift and got a bit of a shock when I turned it on and saw that my twitter and my messages were blowing up. I unlocked my phone and saw a couple of twitter notifications from the boys. I squeaked and nearly run into a lamp pole. Not only they had released the music video for Perfect, but also a brand new song called Home.

I had never been home so fast ever before. When I opened the door, Lily pretty much jumped at me, literally bouncing through the hallway. "THEY RELEASED THE MUSIC VIDEO AND A NEW SONG! Goooood, I hate them. Come on, let's watch it! I waited for you." I dropped my back and my jacket on the floor and we both rushed into the living room where Lily had already sat up her computer. We sat down and Lily quickly pressed play. The next three minutes and fifty seconds passed in a blur of happiness and emotions.

After the video had ended we sat there in silence for a minute. "It's sooo good." said Lily quietly next to me. I could only nod. "Perfection." I said and we burst out laughing. "Fuck, how do they always get to me?" I wondered out loud. "I am friends with them, for fuck's sake and they still manage to kill me with their music video." Lily giggled. "Okay, let's listen to Home." As expected, Home hit me right in the heart. The lyrics were beautiful and I might have shed a tear or two when we listened to the song. "You'll never feel like you're alone. I'll make this feel like home" Louis' voice sounded through our living room.

"I hate him." I said in a low voice. "Who?" Lily asked surprised and looked up at me. "Louis." I said and she laughed. "Why?" "Because of this song, that's why! He knew this would kill me and he didn't even warn me about it! None of them did!" I looked around for my phone and then remembered that it was still in the pocket of my jacket which was in the hallway. I collected my things and then took my phone with me to my room. "I'm calling Louis." I shouted towards the living room and I heard Lily laughing.

In my room I quickly dialled Louis' number and pressed call. I let it ring a few times, but he didn't answer his phone. It was nearly eight and I knew that they were getting ready for their show in Belfast. It was supposed to be their third show over there tonight, but they had had to cancel their first show because Liam had been ill on Tuesday. I had immediately called when I had seen the news on twitter, but Louis had calmed me down and reassured me that Liam had eaten something wrong and was just feeling like shit, constantly throwing up and therefore was unable to do the show, so nothing too serious. He was back on stage the next night and I had been very grateful that he had felt better so quickly.

Next I tried to call Harry who picked up immediately. "Claire?" his deep voice sounded through the phone. "No, it's Oprah." I replied sarcastically. Harry chuckled. "I have actually met Oprah, you know?" He told me and I could basically see him laughing at me all the way from Belfast. "Oh, shut up, Harry." He laughed even harder. "Did you only call me, only to tell me to shut up the second I answer the phone or did you want something?" he asked me and I remembered the actually reason why I had called him in the first place.

"No, I called you to file a complaint." I told him. "And why is that?" Harry asked and I imagined him smiling in amusement on the other side of the phone. "Because YOU are supposed to be my friend! And friends warn their friends before they release a new music video and song that could potentially kill said friend." At the other end of the line Harry burst out laughing. It took him a couple of seconds to calm down enough to continue our conversation. I waited patiently for him to calm down. I mean it wasn't like I wasn't secretly enjoying listening to Harry Styles' laugh, even if it was at my expense.

"We were already wondering when you'd react to our messages. Lou was worried that you were seriously mad at him when you didn't reply to any of his messages, but when you didn't reply to any of ours either, he calmed down again." He chuckled and then asked in a more serious tone "You and Louis are okay now, right?" I smiled. "Yes, we're okay, thanks for asking. And I didn't reply to any of your texts or calls because I was working." I explained to him and he hummed.

"Anyway, back to that bloody video and your new song Home." I said and I heard Harry laugh again. I liked hearing him laugh and knowing that I was the reason that he was happy and laughing made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He deserved to be happy. "I take it that you liked the video and the song?" Harry interrupted my thoughts. "Liked it? I fucking LOVED it!" I told him excitedly. "Great idea for the video, especially with the black and white- very classy- and Home killed me Harry, it really did." Harry laughed again.

"Sometimes, I forget how much of a fan you are." I blushed a bit and was glad that he wasn't able to see me through the phone. "Wellll, what can I say? It's not really my fault that your music is so amazing." I told him. "I'm glad you like it. I can't wait for you to listen to the rest of the album." I chuckled. "Trust me, Harry, neither can I."

I heard voices in the background and then Harry who told someone else that he was coming. "Claire? I am very sorry, but I got to go now. Lou wants to do my hair now. I'll tell Louis that you called and maybe he'll call you back later after the show, okay?" He sounded disappointed that he had to hang up on me, but I knew that his job was more important than talking to me so I wasn't angry at him. "It's fine, Harry. Don't worry about it. I'll be up until midnight or so, so Louis can call me whenever he's free."

There was a short silence and a shuffle. "I'll pass the message on to him. I really enjoyed talking to you, Claire." I smiled widely at that. "I really enjoyed talking to you, too, Harry. Have a great show!" "Thanks, love, I will. Bye!" I ended our call and lay down on my bed. I could hear Home playing on repeat in the living room and Lily who was singing along to it and smiled to myself. I was so lucky to have such amazing friends. I sighed happily and tried to fight the tiredness after my long shift at the hotel.

There was a knock on my door and Lily's head appeared between the door and the doorframe. "Do you wanna watch This Is Us to get over the new video and song?" she asked with a grin and I nodded and dragged myself over to the living room. We spent the rest of the night laughing and talking. Before I went to bed, I received a text from Louis.

Hey love, I am so sorry, but I won't be able to call you tonight. My day was super exhausting and although I just want to go to sleep, we have to record a small part of a new song again which still needs some work before we can release it next month. Harry told me you liked the video and the song. I hope you know that I'll always be your home when you need one. Sweet dreams, Lou xx

I read his last sentence over and over again and couldn't help but stupidly smile at my phone. I knew that it was a reference to their new song which he had co-written as I had seen earlier, and I plugged my headphones in, letting the song lull me into sleep, a big smile on my face and Louis on my mind.


	14. Phone Conversations or How I Need To Find A Wedding Date

The next morning I had to get up early because I had a bunch of lectures and seminars on Friday morning. I groaned and pulled my duvet over my head. After another five minutes of lying in my incredibly warm and comfortable bed, I finally managed to convince myself to get up. I waddled down the hallway towards the kitchen where Lily was already eating breakfast. She had an internship in a hospital at the moment which was at the other end of London so she was already dressed and on her way out.

"Morning, sunshine." she greeted me and happily sipped on her coffee. Lily didn't function without coffee and never left the flat without having had at least one cup of the brown, lifesaving liquid. I mumbled a good morning in her direction and made myself a cup of tea. "I gotta go now and I won't be back until late tonight, but maybe we could do something together this weekend?" She asked me and downed the rest of her coffee. "Sure." I send her a tired smile and she waved. Two minutes later I heard the front door close behind her.

I turned on the radio and ate my breakfast while checking my phone in the meantime. I had received a text from Louis asking whether I wanted to skype him after uni before the show tonight and I immediately agreed. The prospect of skyping Louis later that day definitely woke me up and after a quick look at my kitchen, clock which showed me how late I already was, I decided against a shower and only quickly put on some comfortable clothes, before I run to the tube to get to my first lecture on time.

The morning passed quickly and I suddenly found myself in the cafeteria in a quiet corner with some friends from my politics seminar having lunch. I was eating a sandwich and had just taken a particularly big bite, when my phone rang. It was my mum. "Mmmhm?" I answered the phone, still trying to swallow down the food in my mouth which just seemed to increase with every second. 

"Claire, darling? Is that you?" I heard my mum's concerned voice. I swallowed the rest of my sandwich. "Yes, it's me mum. I am having lunch and my mouth was full, sorry." My friends laughed at me and I shot them a glare. "Oh, did I interrupt your lunch? I am sorry, honey." my mum apologised. "It's fine mum. I always enjoy talking to you." My mum chuckled. "Liar! But I'll let that slip because I have great news!" she told me excitedly. I braced myself for the worst. "What news mum?" I asked cautiously.

"Izzie is getting married!" she squealed excitedly. "Izzie?" I asked. "As in my cousin Izzie?" "Yes, Izzie! She and Daniel are getting married in two weeks on November 7th." I was a bit shocked. "Two weeks? TWO WEEKS? But that's so soon!" My mum chuckled. "They just got engaged, but because of the pregnancy they want to do it rather sooner than later." she explained. "Pregnancy?" I asked dumbfounded. "Does no one ever tell me ANYTHING in this family? I don't talk to my family for like three weeks and suddenly my cousin is pregnant and getting married?"

Wow. I really needed to call Izzie this weekend. I hadn't seen her since March and we hardly ever talked or saw each other because she lived up in Leeds and worked as nurse in the local hospital while her now fiancé Daniel who was a doctor there. She was only a couple of years older than me and we had always gotten along well so I was surprised that she hadn't told me about the pregnancy yet.

"Claire? Are you still there?" I hummed. "So, the wedding is of course in Leeds so you'll have to come up for the wedding and stay in a hotel. I think it's best if you already come up on Friday if possible because the wedding is at 11am on the Saturday." I inwardly groaned but told her I'd definitely try to arrive on Friday. "Perfect! I can't wait to see you again, honey. It's been two months since the last time I saw you in person."

I felt bad. I hardly ever got to see my family since I had moved to London because uni and work was keeping me busy. Work, shit. I made a mental note to tell my boss that I wouldn't be working that weekend. "I am sorry, mum. Uni and especially work has been keeping me busy. I can't wait to see you either." I smiled a bit. "Will dad be able to make it as well?" I asked her while I tried to take a bite of my sandwich without my mum noticing at the same time.

"I really hope so. You know how much he has always loved Izzie." my mum said at the other end of the line and sighed. "He is doing great at the moment, though. Less pain, but he still needs regular physiotherapy which of course was kind of expected. He will want to see you as well so I am sure he'll try to make it. Maybe he won't be able to stay as long as he would want to but I think he will definitely make it to the wedding."

I sighed in relief. "That's great, mum. I can't wait to see you both. I would love to keep talking, but I have a meeting with my tutor in half an hour and I still have to finish my lunch. Would it be okay if I hung up on you?" My mum sighed as well. "Of course, honey. I am really looking forward to seeing you at the wedding! Oh, and Claire?" "Yes, mum?" "Bring a date."

I groaned. "A date?" I asked a bit shocked. I must have made a funny face because my friends burst out laughing. My mum laughed, as well. "Yes, a date, Claire. You are an attractive young lady, I am sure you won't have any problems finding a date for a wedding. Bye, love!" "Bye, mum." I said, still shocked, and she hung up.

A date. Where the fuck should I get a date within a couple of days? I had mostly girlfriends at uni and I hadn't really been seeing anyone for months now. My thoughts were interrupted by my friend Cara who told me that she and the others were heading to their next lecture together. I waved at them absentmindedly and finished my sandwich before I slowly made my way towards my tutor's office to discuss my big semester project. I needed a date and I needed it soon.


	15. Insecurities or How I Got Myself A Wedding Date

Later that night I was skyping Louis. "Hey, love!" he greeted me with a wide grin. I couldn't help but grin back equally excited. "Hey, Lou!" There was a short silence where we just grinned at each other and then we both burst out laughing. After we had calmed down, Louis gave me a concerned look. "You look tired, love. Are you okay?" I squinted my eyes at him. "Wow, you really know how to compliment a girl, don't you Tomlinson?" Louis rolled his eyes. "You know I didn't mean it that way, Claire. You just look a bit tired and I am worried about you. Have you been getting enough sleep?" His blue, blue eyes were filled with concern. "I'm fine, Louis. Seriously. Just a very busy week at uni. And then the music video and that bloody song yesterday..." Louis smiled proudly.

"Good surprise, hm? Harry told us about your reaction. Wish I could have seen your fangirl melt down." I glared at him and buried my face in my hands. "Oh shut up." I mumbled through my hands. Louis chuckled. "Nothing to be ashamed of, love. I think it's kind of cute." He winked at me. I blushed furiously and Louis looked quite smug.

"Soooo... you liked 'Home" then?" he asked, suddenly not sounding so confident anymore. I looked up in surprise. "Liked it?! I loved it, Louis. The lyrics are beautiful. I mean the whole song is beautiful. Great chorus!" I gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled back. "I'm glad you liked it." There was a short silence where we just smiled at each other. "Anything exciting happening today?" Louis asked me after a few seconds. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Mister I-Am-On-A-Worldwide-Stadium-Tour-With-My-Band?" Louis rolled his eyes. "That's not fair, I asked you first." I sighed. "Okay, I'll tell ya about my exciting day. But only if you tell me something funny in return." "Alright." Louis agreed.

"So, after I had my emotional meltdown last night" I started off and Louis' mouth twitched but he managed to stay quiet, "I had way too many lectures and seminars this morning and then grabbed lunch with some friends. Oh and my mum called. My cousin Izzie is getting married in like two weeks on the 7th November up in Leeds. Which brings me to the next topic. I need to find a date." I groaned and Louis chuckled. I glared at him. "You can stop laughing because I was actually kind of maybe gonna ask you if you would like to be my date for my cousin's wedding." I rambled really fast and blushed deeply.

"Could you repeat that, please?" Louis asked with an amused grin. I took a deep breath. "Would you like to be my date to my cousin's wedding?" I asked more slowly this time and tried to avoid Louis' eyes as best as I could. "Claire?" I heard Louis' voice. "Claire? Hey, love, look at me." I hesitantly met his eyes. "I would LOVE to go to your cousin's wedding with you. It's our last weekend off and I was planning on driving up to Donny anyway. I can spend the Friday with my family, go to the wedding with you on Saturday and then spend the Sunday again with my family." I gave him a small smile. "Are you absolutely sure about this, Louis? Because the last thing I want to do is keep you away from your family who hardly ever sees you."

Louis smiled back at me. "I am 100% sure, Claire. I love my family, but you're a very good friend of mine and I like spending time with you as well, especially since I won't see you as much during all the promo for the new album." He looked kind of sad for a bit, then he seemed to remember something and his eyes lit up. "Oh, before I forget it! Next week is our last show before the break and we are all inviting people who are important to us and I and the boys all really wanted to invite you and Lily, too. Only if you'd like to come, of course." He added quickly.

My heart was beating like crazy. On the inside I was freaking out. Another 1D concert; Louis and the boys want me and Lily to be there; I'll get to see their last big show; I will see Louis and the boys again next week! My head was spinning. "Claire?" I heard Louis asked and I snapped out of it. Then I realised that I still hadn't given him an answer. "I would LOVE to go, Lou! You have no idea how much this means to me." My face hurt from grinning so much.

"Awesome. I'll email you the ticket and I will book you and Lily a hotel room in Sheffield if you like. Although I'm pretty sure that no one's gonna get much sleep that night anyway." He gave me a cheeky grin and wiggled his eyebrows. "Louis!" I scolded him playfully and blushed a bit. "Get your head out of the gutter, Claire. I was only talking about partying afterwards." I rolled my eyes. "Sure you were, Tomlinson." He grinned.

"Okay, now about that funny story you wanted to hear. Um..." he thought for a minute while I admired his cheekbones which seemed to be screaming "Touch me!" at me. Fortunately, I was in London and Louis in Belfast, otherwise I probably would have embarrassed myself really badly. "

Okay, yesterday during sound check, Harry stumbled over a loose wire and fell over and we obviously all laughed and Niall was standing close to the edge of the stage and he was laughing so hard that he fell off the stage." I was laughing so hard at that point that I nearly fell off my bed as well, but was concerned enough to ask whether Niall and Harry were doing okay after their falls. Louis laughed as well. "Oh they're fine, but only a bruised ego." snickered Louis. "I just wish I had caught in on camera." he added with a hint of sadness in his voice. "Me, too." I said and we both started laughing again.

We continued to chat for a bit longer, until there was a knock on the door and Louis went over to see who was knocking. "Hey mate, are you coming? We have to leave for the arena in five." I heard Harry's voice through the screen. "Sure, I'm skyping Claire at the moment." Louis replied. "You are?" Harry sounded excited. A few seconds later his face appeared in front of the camera. "Hi, love." He smiled widely, showing off his dimples which made me swoon a little bit. "Hi, stumbled over any loose wires lately? " I grinned back.

Harry shot Louis an angry look. "You told her about that?" Louis and I laughed. "I had to, mate. It was too good to keep it to myself." Harry grumbled something under his breath. "I'll let you go then. I don't want you to be late." I told him and Louis' face appeared next to Harry's. They both pouted.

"Don't look at me like that, guys! I just don't want you to be late for your show. I'd love to continue chatting to you, but we'll see each other next week anyway and-" but I was interrupted by Harry who grinned excitedly. "You're coming to our last show?" he asked happily. I grinned back. "Yes, I am. Louis just invited me." Harry looked genuinely happy and I just wanted to the next weekend to arrive already. Louis checked his phone. "I'm sorry, love, but we gotta go now." "It's fine. I'll probably just go to bed now and try to catch up on my sleep." I told them and yawned. I waved and they waved back until Louis ended the call.

I had literally just ended the call, when my phone started ringing. It was Lily. "Hello, bestie." I grinned, still on an emotional high from my skype call with Louis. "Hi! Guess what?!" she asked me excitedly. I laughed. "What?" "Niall just invited me to their last OTRA show next week!" Lily squealed into my ear and I had to hold the phone a bit further away from my ear. "That's so great, Lil! Louis just invited me, too!"

Now we both squealed and then started laughing. "Shit, we're in way too deep." Lily said a little bit out of breath. "Yup. Once you start liking them you can never get back out." I added. But to be completely honest, I didn't mind it one bit.

"Sooooo..." I started in a teasing tone. "What's going on with you and Nialler?" I asked her and I could hear her groan on the other end of the line. "Goood, I don't really know it either, Claire! I mean, yes I like him and he is a great guy and a really good kisser, I might add, but we never really talked about it and I know he doesn't really do commitment, but then again he asked me out on a date which we still have to go on and aaargh I just don't know what to think."

I chuckled. "Okay, first of all, take a deep breath. Now, you two seemed to be having a great time at the club and I don't think Niall goes around kissing random people and I know for certain that he doesn't invite many girls out on dates. Plus, he invited you to their last show. Don't stress about this, oaky? If it's supposed to happen it will happen." I told her.

There was a short pause. "You're probably right. It's just ... It's Niall, you know? I don't want to mess that up." She sounded very insecure about the whole thing and she didn't even have a reason to. "Lily, listen to me. You're one of the most amazing people I know, okay? You're beautiful, funny, kind and Niall knows that which is why he probably likes you so much."

Lily sighed and I heard a shuffle. "Thanks, Claire. You really are the best friend in the world." I smiled. "Well, I hope so. After all, it was me who introduced you to Niall." She laughed. "I'll mention that at our wedding. Now, what's going on between you and Louis???" she asked excitedly and I groaned but told her about the wedding invitation and the fact the Louis would be my date.

"You are going to a wedding with LOUIS TOMLINSON? Louis Tomlinson is your date to your cousin's wedding? Shit, Claire. I can't believe this!" I giggled. I couldn't believe it either. Good thing that no one in my family was massively obsessed with One Direction. Well, apart from me, of course. "This is gonna be amazing." Lily promised me and I couldn't help but agree. I was going to my cousin's wedding with Louis Tomlinson as my date. What could possibly go wrong?


	16. June Wedding or How I Met Lottie Tomlinson

The next Saturday, Lily and I boarded the plane towards Doncaster Airport which was the closest to the arena in Sheffield. We were both massively excited as we would not only see the boys again, but also meet most of their closest friends and family. The whole flight, Lily was bouncing her left leg up and down which drove me crazy, while I listened to anything but One Direction to distract myself. When the pilot announced our imminent arrival in Doncaster, we were both close to hyperventilating.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, I'm gonna die." Lily kept mumbling next to me. "Shut up, Lily, I'm nervous, too." I snapped at her. I sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you." I apologised to her. I took her hand in mine and gave it a light squeeze. Louis had told me that he would try to come to the airport to collect me himself, but he wasn't sure if he would be free with most of his family and friends coming to the show as well.

The plane touched down around lunch time and even with all the nerves, I was starting to be hungry again. We made our way out of the plane towards the exit. I knew that Louis would either send someone else to collect us or wear some form of disguise because especially the Doncaster airport was critical for him, as he often got mobbed by excited fans. Everyone knew that the boys would be in the Sheffield area this weekend and there were probably fans waiting at the airport to see the boys or some of their friends and family arriving for their last show.

Suddenly, Lily elbowed me. "Claire!" she whisper-shouted. "What?" I asked. "Isn't that Ben Winston?" I looked to my left. There really was Ben Winston standing there a few metre next to us. "Should we talk to him?" Lily asked me. "And say what 'Hey we're friends with the boys, but you don't know us because we don't want to be seen much in public with them?' Yeah, like that's gonna work."

Lily giggled next to me. "Well, it would be funny to see his face." I chuckled. "That's true but I don't want to embarrass myself completely. Not today, at least." We casually strolled towards the exist and tried to ignore the fact that Ben Winston was walking a few metres behind us. We both totally admired him. "Okay, Claire, concentrate." I told myself. "Find Louis or someone else who holds up your names and get out of here."

The two of us walked through the exit and I spotted a girl with long whitish hair and big sunglasses and a head on,who was holding up a sign that said "Claire, Lily & Ben's pick up service". We casually walked over to her and gave her a small smile and a wave. When she spotted us, she dropped the sign and pulled first me, than Lily and then Ben into a hug.

"Hello, you three!" She said cheerfully and took off her sunglasses for a short moment. This moment was enough to realise who was standing there in front of me, the one and only, Lottie Tomlinson. "Hi, I'm Lottie and you must be Claire and Lily?" she asked in our direction and we nodded. "Okay, I'll just quickly introduce you to each other. Ben, these are Claire and Lily", she pointed at us, "and girls, this is Ben Winston. Lily is a friend of Niall and Claire is Louis' friend." she added with a grin in my direction. Ben shook our hands and then Lottie already dragged us towards the car park.

"We need to hurry up, Louis and Niall will kill me if I let them wait too long." she said with a glance in our direction. "Niall's here, too?" Lily asked, her voice slightly higher than usual. Lottie nodded and grinned. "We couldn't stop him from coming with us. Harry wanted to come as well, but Gemma arrived a couple of minutes before we had to leave, so he stayed with her instead." My heart skipped a beat. I had completely forgotten who I would be meeting today and I felt my throat closing up, so I tried to concentrate on the fact the I would get to hug Louis in a couple of minutes which calmed me down a little bit.

Lily, Ben and Lottie chatted amongst themselves while we walked through the maze of the car park. I was too nervous about seeing Louis and the rest of the boys again to talk much. They had parked the car in a corner that was very far away from the car park entrance to avoid being seen. Unfortunately that didn't prevent them from being heard and we could already hear the music coming from their car long before we saw it.

We approached the car and Lottie sharply knocked on one of the windows. The music immediately stopped and Niall's grinning face appeared in the window. "Lily!" he cheered and a few seconds later, Lily was in his arms. "Aha, I see were your priorities lie, Mr Horan." I commented and pouted.

The next second, someone hugged me from behind. I looked up and saw Louis grinning down at me. He let me go and I quickly turned around to give him a proper hug. "Hi, love." he said and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I smiled up at him. "Hi, Lou." From the corner of my eyes, I saw Lottie grinning widely at us and I quickly let go of Louis. He, however, didn't seem to want to let go of me so soon and intertwined our fingers and gave my hand a small squeeze. Niall, who had let go of Lily, walked over and gave me a one-armed-hug after he had greeted Ben, which was a bit difficult because Louis was still holding my hand.

"Alright, lovebirds, back in the car." Lottie said and Louis shot her a dark look, but climbed back into the car, nevertheless. Lottie, Louis and I ended up in the middle, while Niall and Lily sat in front of the car. Ben was happy in the back and had called his wife, who he was talking to right now. "Sooooo... how long is the drive to the arena?" Lily asked from the front. "'bout half an hour." replied Niall. Next to Louis, Lottie turned towards me and gave me a cheeky grin. "So Claire, how did you have the misfortune to meet my brother?" She winked at Louis who tickled her a little bit and she squeaked and squirmed in her seat. "Stop it, Louis! I only asked her an innocent question! I didn't asked something like whether she wanted to have a June wedding or not."

I blushed at her words and Niall snickered in the driver's seat. Lily turned around and said "She has always wanted a summer wedding, so June sounds good, doesn't it, Claire?" I glared at her. "Traitor." I said in her direction and crossed my arms over my chest. I turned my head to look out of the window and jumped a little when I felt Louis' hand on my thigh. "Hey, don't pout, love." he said quietly in my ear. "They're just teasing you." I didn't turn my head, but the ends of my mouth twitched as I tried to suppress a smile. I felt Louis nudge me a little bit with his nose and heard a quiet "Awww" from Lily. I gave in and laid my head on his shoulder while we continued or journey to the Sheffield arena.


	17. Meeting The Families or How I Nearly Died

We arrived at the arena shortly after 3.30 pm. Everyone climbed out of the car and Louis took my bag for me, ignoring my protests. I was so nervous that I was feeling sick because I was about to meet so many important people that I never thought I would ever have the chance to meet. My hands were shaking a bit and Lily who must have noticed that, shot me a nervous smile before she quickly followed Niall through a site entrance into the arena.

We walked through a long hallway, deeper and deeper into the maze inside of the stadium. "If you left me here I would probably never find my way back out." I attempted to make a joke and Louis chuckled next to me. "Don't worry about it, love. I'll make sure that we won't lose you I here." I put my hand over my heart. "I feel honoured, thank you Louis."

Ben cleared his throat behind us and we both blushed a bit and continued our way inside the maze, passing and greeting people from time to time. We stopped outside a door that said 'Lounge'. "Here we are." said Niall happily and opened the door, pulling Lily in right behind him. We were greeted by loud cheers.

Louis grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a group of people who turned out to be his mum, her husband and his siblings who were all giving me curious looks. One of the girls let her eyes rest on our intertwined hands and I immediately tried to let go of Louis' hand but he only tightened his grip and I gave up after a couple of seconds. "Mum, this is my friend Claire." Louis introduced me proudly and I smiled shyly at Louis' mum. She gave me a wide smile in return and pulled me into a hug. "It's so nice to finally meet you, love. Louis wouldn't shut up about you." She said and Louis blushed a little bit. One by one everyone introduced themselves. They all seemed so nice and supportive of Louis and I immediately felt comfortable around them. 

We chatted for a while until I heard a deep voice behind me. "Claire!" shouted Harry excitedly behind me. "Harry!" I mocked him and let go of Louis' hand, who pouted a bit but reluctantly let go of my hand, to give Harry a proper hug. "It's good to see you, love." said Harry and smiled down at me, his green eyes twinkling excitedly. "It's good to see you, too, Harry." I smiled up at him. He looked over to Louis and his family. "Would you mind if I stole her for a little bit? I would love to introduce her to Gemma and my mum." I opened my mouth to say something, but Louis was faster. "Yeah, um, sure. Just don't lose her." he added with a grin in my direction, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks, Lou." Harry smiled at Louis and then grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowded room over to where his mum, his step-dad and his sister were standing.

"Harry, we just wondered where you had disappeared to, but now I understand." Harry's mum said with a smile and shared a knowing look with Gemma. Harry cleared his throat. "Um, yes. Everyone, this is Claire." I waved awkwardly. "Hi." His mum smiled at me. "Hi, I am Anne. Nice to meet you." I held out my hand but she pulled me into a hug. After Gemma and Robin had introduced themselves as well, Gemma asked a question which made not only me, but also Harry blush deeply. "So, how long have you two been dating?" she asked us and I choked a bit on my spit. Harry immediately started to pad my back while I was coughing. When I had finally calmed down, I was crimson red and wanted to vanish into thin air. Or be invisible. Or basically just literally anywhere else, but in that room next to Harry, who looked like he would like to vanish with me. "We, um, we're not... I am single." I blurted out and looked down at my hands. Harry cleared his throat. "We are just friends, Gemma." he said and looked down at me.

"I am so sorry I asked, I just thought... you two look like you're a couple." Gemma apologised and Anne laughed. "Now that we made that clear, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, Claire?" I took a deep breath. "Um, what would you like to know?" I asked them with a smile and after a reassuring look from Harry, we started to talk for a while, until my stomach made a very loud and very embarrassing sound. Everyone, including me, laughed. "I'm sorry, I haven't had anything to eat since seven am this morning." I apologised. "No need to apologise, Claire. We'll let you two go, so you can find something for you to eat." Anne assured me. I thanked them and then Harry tugged me away and showed a table in a corner where we also run into Lily and Niall again who were stuffing their faces with sandwiches.

"There you are!" Lily said. "I thought I had lost you." I shook my head. "No I was only kidnapped first by Louis and then by Harry." Niall laughed. "You are so popular, Claire." I shrugged and flipped some imaginary dust from my shoulders. "What can I say, I'm awesome." Harry laughed at this. "Would you disagree with me, Styles?" I asked him and he defensively held up both of his hands. "I would never do that, Winters." He tried to look innocent, but the mischievous twinkle in his eyes gave him away. "Hmmmm, sure. Whatever you say, Harry." I told him. In that moment, someone shouted through a megaphone that the boys were needed in hair & makeup. Harry groaned. "Enjoy your make up session, boys!" Lily teased them and they both shot her a look before they disappeared into the crowd, while we continued eating and chatting.

About half an hour later, Lottie appeared next to me and told me that it was time to go into the arena. "What about my bag?" I asked and started to look around for it. "Don't worry, Louis put it into his dressing room." Lottie told me and then grabbed mine and Lily's hand and pulled us out of the door with the rest of the big group. When we arrived in the arena, the girls around us started to scream because they recognised most of the friends and family members. We watched the opening act perform and then the lights went off for the last One Direction show in a little while.


	18. Cuddles or How I Joined A Conga Line

The show was amazing. Everyone was really emotional and there was a lot of hugging and crying going on, not only in the audience, but also on stage. They kept repeating that this wasn't the end of One Direction and when Niall thanked the others and teared up a bit, Lily was clinging onto me for support. I was hugging Lily nearly the whole time or holding her hand and Lottie, who was standing next to us, was also very emotional.

During the show, Harry caught my eyes at one point and winked at me while gesturing towards his shoes. He was wearing his golden, sparkly boots again that we had made fun of during our first show about a month ago. I stuck out my tongue at him and he put his hand over his chest. Little Things was maybe even more special this second time because both Louis and Niall sat towards our side of the stage and Louis smiled and winked at me when he had finished his part, which made me blush a little bit. I was glad that Lottie was standing next to me so that people wouldn't get suspicious. Niall looked over to Lily during his solo who nearly broke my hand because she was squeezing it so hard.

Towards the end, it felt like a huge goodbye party for the boys. Everyone was dancing and singing and having the time of their lives. 'Act My Age' was undeniably the absolute highlight of the show. Everyone in our friends and family section did a conga line, led by Liam's dad and the boys went just as crazy on stage as we did. It was the best night of my life so far and it had only just started. We danced to 'Act My Age' for at least five minutes which was amazing. I think Niall spoke for everyone when he said "This is the most fun I've ever had."

And then, finally, they performed 'Drag Me Down' as their last song and everyone got emotional again. Lily and I were hugging each other very tightly as well, when the boys hugged each other on stage. I knew that this wasn't the last time I'd see them perform on a big stage, but it would be the last one in a longer time and that made everyone emotional.

After the boys had walked off stage, we quickly made our way backstage. The moment Niall had spotted Lily he pulled her into a hug. They hugged for a long time and Niall was whispering something into her ear to which she nodded with a big smile. I was so entranced by Lily and Niall that I hadn't noticed Louis who had walked up to me after hugging his friends and family who had come along, until he put a hand on my shoulder. "Hi love." he said to me and I smiled up at him. "Hi Lou." He pulled me into a long hug. He seemed to be taking this a lot harder than he was trying to make everyone believe and I hugged him back just as tightly as he was hugging me. "Are you okay?" I asked him quietly and he nodded, but didn't let go off me for another minute or so.

After Louis had released me, I hugged Niall and Liam as well and Louis introduced me to some of his friends from back home. I chatted with them for a bit, but I was secretly looking out for Harry who I hadn't seen since he had walked off stage. I let my eyes wander along the crowd, but I couldn't spot him anywhere.

Suddenly, someone was covering my eyes from behind and a deep voice said "Were you looking for me?" I grinned and turned around, only to quickly take a step back. Harry was standing right behind me, grinning down at me. "Maybe." I replied and Harry's grin became even bigger if that was possible. "Did you enjoy the show, love?" he asked me and I nodded happily. "A bit emotional, but so worth it!" Harry nodded. "It was emotional, but this was probably the best show I have ever played." I smiled up at him. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Harry." We kept smiling at each other for a couple of seconds, until Louis coughed behind me and Harry quickly took a step back.

"We are heading off to the hotel for a short time very soon, so that everyone who arrived just before the show can drop off their stuff in their rooms before we go out and we need to get your bag from my dressing room, love." Louis told me and I send an apologetic smile Harry's way who smiled back at me before he walked over to where his friends and family were standing and Louis pulled me along with him towards his dressing room.

After the door had closed behind us, Louis let himself fall onto one of the sofas that was standing in the room. "I thought we had to hurry up so that we can get to the hotel before we go out again?" I asked him and he grinned widely at me. "We do, but we still have about ten minutes left until we have to leave. I just wanted to have you a bit to myself before I have to share you with everyone else again, for the rest of the night." He told me and my heart seemed to be able to explode at any seconds. "I'm perfectly okay with that" I assured him and he patted the spot next to him on the sofa so I sat down on the sofa as well. He put an arm around my shoulder and I leaned my head against his chest. We sat like that for about a minute, just enjoying each other's company. "This is nice. No annoying family members or friends who can interrupt us." Louis said and I hummed in response.

"How are you feeling about the tour being over now?" I asked him quietly. Louis sighed. "Well, of course it's sad because I will definitely miss being on tour and seeing the others on a daily basis, but on the other hand, I can't wait to release the album very soon and then just have some time off where no one tells me where I have to be at what time every single day. I can do anything I want." he told me. "It's gonna be weird, definitely." I squeezed his hand, but when I tried to drop it, he intertwined our fingers again. He seemed to be doing this a lot lately, and as much as I wasn't looking for a relationship right now, I also wasn't complaining about some cuddling. Everyone needed a good cuddle from time to time and I hadn't had one in a very long time.

There was a knock on the door and Harry's head poked through the door. His eyes lingered on our intertwined hands and my head on Louis' shoulder, but he only told us that it was time to leave. "Alright, we'll meet you at the cars in a minute." Louis told him and with a final look in my direction, Harry shut the door behind him and we were alone again.

"I guess, that's the end of our alone time." I said with a smile and got up. Louis let go off my hand and started to collect some personal things while I quickly pushed my phone in one of the side pockets of my overnight bag. "Ready to go?" Louis asked me and after one last look at his now abandoned dressing room, he closed the door behind us and took my hand in his again to lead us out of the arena towards the cars where the rest was waiting for us.

***************************  
"I really need to learn when to stop drinking." I said as I stumbled and had to hold onto Harry for support, who giggled and put an arm around my waist. "You and me both, love." We burst into a fit of giggles and Louis who was walking on my other side groaned. "You two really can't hold your liquor." Behind me Niall and Lily were walking arm in arm, singing a traditional Irish folk song Niall had taught her over the course of the night. It was just us five who had decided to call it a night.

Well Louis had decided to call it a night. He seemed to be only half as drunk as we were and I think he was tired of looking after us. We reached the car and all piled in. For some reason, I thought it was a great idea to sit on Louis' lap and we had a five minute argument because he refused to let me sit on his lab while we were driving to the hotel.

"But you are so comfortable." I whined and giggled when Louis groaned. I exchanged a conspiratorial glance with Harry and then we both threw ourselves onto the middle seat, me on top of him. Niall and Lily sat down opposite us, both laughing at our actions.

"Claire, if you don't get the fuck out of Harry's lab and into a proper car seat I will forcibly have to put you into a seat and tie you up, okay? You have ten seconds. One, two..." Harry tightened his grip around me and I hid my face in his chest. "Six, Claire just because you can't see me, does not mean that I can't see you." Louis continued to count to ten and then started to loosen Harry's grip around me. Harry was just as wasted as I was so it was a fairly easy task.

While he apologised to the driver who was watching the scenario with an amused look on his face, Louis forced me into the seat next to Harry and put my seat belt on as well. Then he pushed Harry into the other window seat and sat down in the middle of the two of us, holding my hands together with one hand, while trying to stop Harry from tickling him with his other.

The rest of the ride was spent with me cheering Harry on, Niall and Lily giggling and singing in their seats and Louis trying to make us shut up and to stop Harry from tickling him. I think it was safe to say that Louis was more than happy when we finally arrived at the hotel.

We stopped in front of a back door to avoid the paparazzi and Niall and Lily excitedly hopped out of the car, clinging onto each other for support. It didn't take them long to start singing again and Louis hastily tried to make them shut up before they woke up the whole hotel, before they disappeared inside out of view. He then unbuckled mine and Harry's seat belts and helped both of us out of the car. I was suddenly feeling very dizzy and sat down on the pavement in front of the hotel while Louis paid the driver. Even though he was very drunk himself, Harry still seemed to care enough about me to be concerned about me in his drunk state, so he sat down beside me and padded my back.

When Louis turned around, the two of us were sitting next to each other on the pavement, me with my hand in my hands to stop the dizziness. "Claire? Are you okay?" I could hear Louis' concerned voice next to me. "She said she's feeling dizzy." Harry told him and then started giggling again. "Dizzzzzyyyy. Dizzy." He laughed at himself. Louis crouched down in front of me. "Okay, Claire. Can you hear me, love?"

I looked up to him and before I could stop myself, I pushed some hair that was hanging into his eyes out of his face. Louis' breath hitched. "You're eyes are so pretty, Lou. So, so pretty." I told him. A small smile appeared on Louis' face. "Thanks love, your eyes are very beautiful as well." "What about my eyes?" Harry piped in and batted his eyelashes at Louis. "Your eyes are also very pretty, Harry." Louis told him and then turned back to me.

"Okay, Claire. We are going to try to get you upstairs now. Do you think you can stand up?" I nodded and Louis pulled me up to my feet. I swayed back and forth and had to hold onto Louis to keep myself from falling down again. "Okay, Harry, get your drunk ass up so we can get you two upstairs to your rooms." Harry jumped to his feet and nearly fell over again. "I'm not drunk!" he said loudly and I nodded vigorously. "He's not drunk Lou, he's just funny." I giggled a bit. Louis rolled his eyes at the two of us. "Whatever you say, guys."

We walked, or more like stumbled, into the hotel and into the lift. Louis had to keep both of us from pushing every single button which ended in a fight which he won. Harry and I ended up in the opposite corner of the lift, both pouting and whisper-talking about what a meanie Louis was, who run his hand through his hair and sighed.

When we had reached our floor, Louis first dropped Harry off in his room who simply crashed on his bed, fully clothed, and then literally carried me over to my room. He had to put me down to search for my room card which I found incredibly funny because I had forgotten where I had put it. He ended up finding it in my back pocket are a few minutes and blushed a bit when he had to put his hand into my pocket to get the card out.

He unlocked the door and then guided me to my bed where he helped me take off my shoes. I just sat there and watched him with an admiring look in my eyes. "Claire? Hello?" Louis waved his hand in front of my face. "Do you need help changing into your PJs?" I nodded and held up my arms. Louis chuckled and helped me out of my top and into a wide t-shirt which I had packed for the night. "Hey, isn't that my t-shirt?" Louis asked with a grin and I nodded and grinned up at him. "It's sooooo soft. And it smells like you." I said and even my drunk-self had the decency to blush. "I'm glad it is." Louis smiled down at me and then helped me out of my jeans as well. I was sitting half naked in front of Louis Tomlinson and all I wanted to do was sleep or cuddle with Louis.

"Can you stay with me tonight?" I asked Louis shyly and looked up at him with my best puppy eyes. A big smile spread across his face and he nodded. "Sure, love. How can I say to a beautiful, half-naked woman asking me to stay the night?" I threw a pillow at him and he laughed and threw it back. "Louiiiiis, you know I didn't mean it like that. I just need some cuddles." "Well, I am happy to help out." said Louis and quickly pulled off his jeans and t-shirt.

If I had been sober, I probably would have been able to contain myself, but my drunk-self had lost any boundaries whatsoever and I openly gaped at Louis who winked at me and then slipped next to me underneath the covers. I cuddled into him and put my head on his chest which was surprisingly comfortable.

"You are a good cuddle buddy." I told him. I felt his chest vibrate underneath me and a low chuckle escaped Louis' mouth. "And you are adorable when you're drunk." I huffed indignantly. "AM NOT!" I protested. Louis only laughed harder at me. I pouted. "You are a meanie." I told him and crossed my arms over my chest. Louis poked my side and I jumped a bit and hit his arm. "Like I said, meanie." "Come on, love. I know you're enjoying this just as much as I am." There was a short silence. "Maybe I am." I admitted and I felt Louis pull me a bit closer.

I felt so at home in Louis' arms. The lyrics from Home came to my mind and I couldn't help but smile a bit. "You really do make me feel like home." I told Louis quietly and closed my eyes. "I'm happy to hear that, Claire." I felt Louis lightly kiss my head and then he pulled the duvet closer around the two of us and turned off the lights and I felt myself get sleepier with every second. "Sweet dreams, Claire." I heard Louis whisper before I fell asleep, happy and safe in Louis' arms.


	19. Disheveled Sheets or How I Am Never Drinking Again

I woke up with a massive headache. It took me a few seconds to figure out where I was. Then it hit me and I nearly died from embarrassment. I groaned a bit and pulled the duvet over my head. There was a shuffle and Louis poked his head underneath the duvet as well. "Morning sunshine!" He grinned at me and I peeked out from inside my duvet tent. 

"I am NEVER drinking again." I said in a defeated tone and let myself fall back into the pillows. Louis chuckled. "Hmmmm, that's what they all say." I frowned and tried to ignore the fact that he was lying next to me half naked while I was only in my underwear and a t-shirt. Ugh, I hated sleeping with my bra on, but the good news was that I at least hadn't taken my bra off in front of him.

"Louis?" He hummed to signal that he was listening. "Um, I am sorry about last night. I was really drunk and I know that I get a bit stubborn when I'm drunk and I can't remember everything that happened, but thank you for staying with me." By the time I was finished I was bright red and avoided Louis' eyes at all costs. "Hey, look at me, love." I hesitantly looked over to him. He smiled at me. "You are an adorable drunk, a bit dangerous when you team up with Harry, yes, but adorable nevertheless." I blushed even more. "And I stayed with you because you asked me to and because I wanted to make sure that you were okay. So don't worry your pretty head about that." 

I looked down at the duvet again. It had a nice flower pattern on it. "I, um, I asked you to stay?" I didn't dare to look at him when I asked the question. "Yes, you did. You even asked me to help you get changed." I cursed under my breath. "Oh my God, I am so sorry, Lou. I remember that part." I hid behind my hands. A few seconds later, I felt Louis' hands on my wrists and he carefully pulled my hands off my face so that I had to look at him. "Hey, no need to hide that beautiful face of yours, love. You were drunk, nothing to be embarrassed about, okay?" I nodded, but my cheeks were burning from embarrassment.

I had said something else last night, something I would have never admitted if I had been sober and I was sure that Louis remembered that part, too. "Do you, um, did you, did you get the 'Home' comment?" I asked him and his eyes lit up for a brief second, before he could hide it. "I did." He smiled down at me and gently pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I meant that comment, Louis." I admitted to him. His smile grew even bigger. "I am glad you did." He looked at me for a few second and his eyes wandered down to my lips where they lingered for a few seconds.

Everything in me screamed to close the gap between us and finally kiss those lips that I had been craving since our very first meeting, but we had talked about this. My eyes wandered down to his lips. This wasn't the right time, not now, not when we would hardly see each other for two months straight. Louis interrupted my thoughts. "Claire?" His voice was gentle and hesitant. I looked up at him. His eyes were asking for permission, permission that I wanted to give him so badly.

I made my decision in the split of a second. "Fuck it." I saw the surprise in Louis' eyes before I leaned in and then my lips crashed against his. It took him a couple of seconds to get over the initial shock, then he kissed me back. I hadn't been kissed in a very long time and wow did it feel good. My whole body had been craving Louis for such a long time now and eagerly responded to his touch. One of his hand was cupping my head the other one was roaming my body. My hands were tangled in his hair and I was now half way sitting up, half way still lying in bed.

We pulled away, both breathing heavily. "Well, I DEFINITELY don't regret having spent the night." Louis said with a smug grin and I laughed and hit his chest. "I have to say, I really didn't expect you to give in, Claire." he told me and I blushed. "But then again, I was surprised how long you resisted all THAT." Louis waved his hand over his body and I rolled my eyes. "Oh shut up, Tomlinson." 

Louis laughed. "Tomlinson? I thought after making out with you I would have reached at least the first name basis, but..." He sighed dramatically. "Apparently I have to work for that." Now I was grinning at him. "You betcha." I winked at him and slowly pushed the covers down so that it revealed my naked legs. Louis' eyes roamed my body and something changed in his eyes. "Well if that's the case..." He sat up and leaned over to me, but just before he could touch me, I jumped up, threw my pillow at him and made a run to the bathroom. I heard Louis' protests behind me. I run really fast but he still caught me before I had the chance to close the bathroom door behind me.

Both of his hands were on my hips and he spun me around to face him, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "You little tease." I grinned innocently at him, trying to ignore his warm hands on my hips. A few centimetres of skin were exposed on my left side and Louis let his thumb slowly brush over my exposed skin. Very slowly he leaned in and then, just before his lips could touch mine, he stopped. 

"Two can play that game, Winters." He winked at me and quickly pushed passed me into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. "Louis you ass! Open the damn door!" I only got laughter as a reply and a few seconds later, the shower was turned on. I huffed and walked back to the bed and slipped back underneath the still warm duvet.

There was a knock on the door and I groaned and got up again. I made my way to the door and opened it without thinking. Harry was standing in front of the door, his eyes widening for a few seconds when he saw that I was only wearing a t-shirt and his eyes wandered over my messy hair to the disheveled sheets and Louis' clothes behind me. 

"Um, it's not what it looks like!" I told him quickly and blushed deeply. "I, um, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just felt like shit when I woke up and considering that you had just as much to drink as I did last night, I wanted to make sure that you are okay." He smiled at me and I smiled back, my cheeks still slightly red. "I'm fine, thank you. I will never drink again, but I'm fine." I assured him and he chuckled. 

"Okay, then. I'm off to spend the rest of the weekend with my family, but hopefully I'll see you soon?" he asked me with a hesitant smile. I quickly nodded and smiled back. "Oh definitely! I'm sure we'll manage to see each other some time, even with all the promo you'll do for your new album, um..." I hesitantly opened the door a bit wider and pulled Harry into a hug. He hugged me back tightly. "Bye, love." I let go of him and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Bye Harry." He stepped back and I started to close the door, but before I had closed it completely, I heard Harry's voice say "Oh, and Claire? Tell Louis I said hi." Then he pulled the door shut behind him. I was so screwed.


	20. Decisions or How Lily Hid In A Bathroom

After Harry had left, I lay on the bed for a couple of minutes, just trying to process what had just happened. I had KISSED Louis Tomlinson. I had cuddled with him half-naked, all bloody night, sort of admitted that I liked him and on top of that Harry now knew that Louis had spent the night and, by the looks of it, probably thought that we had had sex last night. How did all of this even happen? Although kissing Louis had definitely sobered me up, I was still a little bit hungover and my brain didn't seem to be working properly.

I groaned and run a hand through my hair. I had promised myself to wait, not to give into the temptation, to never ever date a celebrity and I had thrown all of my believes and rules overboard this morning for one guy. But then again, Louis wasn't just a random guy. As much as I hated to admit it, I cared about him. And I definitely cared more about him than just as a friend. What the heck was I supposed to do now?

Louis would be out of the shower any second now and I had to make a decision. I had already tried to postpone the whole thing until January when I thought that he might be able to get a little bit more private sphere, but after our kiss this morning I wasn't sure if I could wait that long. What if he met someone? My thoughts were running in circles and I didn't know what to do.

The bathroom door opened and revealed a half-naked Louis who only had a towel wrapped around him which hung awfully low on his hips. My eyes lingered on his bare chest for a bit too long and when I looked up and met his eyes he was grinning with a knowing look in his eyes. "Like what you see, love?" he asked and wiggled his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and turned my head to the other side.

I heard him walk around the bed and a few seconds later, he was suddenly hovering over me. I squeaked and tried to ignore the fact that he was practically naked, which was a lot more difficult than it sounds. "Get off me, Louis!" I tried to push him off me, but it was pointless. He grinned down at me, a playful twinkle in his eyes. "Not so fast, love." He lowered himself a bit more so that our noses were just inches apart.

Right then, I had a marvellous idea, or at least I thought it was pretty amazing in that moment, and swayed my hips a bit. "Two could play that game, Tomlinson." I thought to myself and grinned up at him. His eyes turned a shade darker and his breath hitched a bit. "You are not as innocent as you make everyone believe, aren't you, Winters?" He asked in a low voice. "Oh we are back to surnames now?" I shot back to ease the tension and I could see the hint of a smile on his face.

I was losing control way too fast, so I thought very hard on what to do next. My hesitation must have been evident on my face because Louis' eyes softened a bit. "What's on your mind, Claire? What's holding you back, love?" I hesitated for a moment and closed my eyes for a second. "Claire?" I opened my eyes again. "Please, talk to me."I took a deep breath.

"I like you, Louis, a lot more than I want to admit to myself. But if we try this now, I need time. I, I haven't had a boyfriend in such a long time and I, um... I'm not sure whether I am very good girlfriend material and or date material in general. A massive part of your life scares the shit out of me and I don't know if I'm ready for that but I really like you and I-" but Louis cut me off with his lips. I kissed him back just as passionately as he was kissing me and we made out for a bit until Louis pulled away.

"We'll make it work, Claire. We'll figure something out. I am here for you no matter what and the boys are super supportive as well and you always have Lily, okay? We'll take it slow and we won't go public until you are 100% comfortable with it, okay?" I gave him a shy smile, my cheeks burning. "Okay." He smiled widely at me and then leaned back in again to give me a peck on the nose. I crinkled my nose and he chuckled. "What's so funny?" I asked him curiously. "You're cute." he told me. I rolled my eyes at him.

We were interrupted by the ringing of my phone. We both jumped a bit and Louis groaned and rolled himself over to the other side of the bed to let me get up and grab my phone. I could feel his eyes on my bare legs as I walked over to my bag which was lying on a table near the door. "Eyes up, Tomlinson." I told him and he chuckled but kept watching me from the bed. I answered the phone.

"Hello?" There was a shuffle and then Lily's voice came through the receiver. "Claire?" she whispered and I had to press the phone to my ear to understand what she said next. "Lily? Are you okay? Why are you whispering?" There was a short silence and then I heard a door shut. "I'm hiding in Niall's bathroom." Lily told me and my eyes widened. Then a wide grin spread across my face and Louis shot me a questioning glance, but I only held up a finger.

"What are you doing in Niall's bathroom?" I asked her and Louis snorted. I gestured to him to keep quiet and he held both of his hands up. "I might have slept with him last night." mumbled Lily at the other end of the line. "You what?" I asked her and she sighed. "I slept with him, okay? I don't know, we were both beyond drunk and he was so sweet and kept kissing me and then one thing led to another and... Claire, you have to help me, I don't know what to do! This isn't like me! I mean, yes I like him, and yes, he told me that he had a date planned last night after the show, but this? I wasn't prepared for this and I'm freaking out, Claire!"

I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from laughing. It didn't surprise me that they had ended up in the same hotel room. "Lily, hey! Calm down, take some deep breaths for me. This is not the end of the world." "But it feels like it." Lily hissed through the receiver. "Is Niall still asleep?" I asked her. "Yes, and I don't want him to wake up! He will notice that we had sex and then he will drop me because he doesn't do relationships. Gooood, Claire, what if he hates me?" I chuckled a bit. "Not funny, Claire!" I bit my tongue.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. Okay, listen to me. I am sure that Niall won't drop you now just because you slept with him. He asked you on a date last night and I have seen how he looks at you. He definitely cares about you." I tried to calm her down. "But what should I do now?!" Lily asked me again, desperation clear in her voice. 

"You go back in there, wait for him to wake up and then tell him exactly what you just told me. Tell him that you're scared that you guys won't work out. Tell him that you feel insecure because he could have any girl in the world. I am sure he will understand you and you'll work things out, okay?" Lily sighed. "Okay, I'll talk to him. Thanks for being such an amazing friend, Claire." I smiled. "Same back at you, bestie." She laughed nervously. "Shit, I think he just woke up. I'll talk to you later!"

Lily hung up on me and I turned around to face Louis. "So, Lily and Niall hooked up, eh?" he asked with a grin. I couldn't exactly deny it after he had listened to my part of the conversation, so I nodded. "Our little Nialler got some last night." Louis said and wiggles his eyebrows. "I think we all saw that one coming." I chuckled. "Yep. Too much sexual tension." Louis' grinned widened and I knew exactly what he was thinking. "Put some clothes on, Tomlinson." I told him and after getting my clothes, I walked into the bathroom to take shower that I desperately needed.


	21. Goodbyes or How We Got Ourselves A Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I did look up some flights online and found out that there are no flights from London to Doncaster and vice versa, probably because it's too close. For the sake of the story, would you mind pretending that there is some sort of flight connection between the two airports? All the love, S

We were all very quiet on the way to the airport. Louis was driving Lily, Niall and me to the airport. Niall was flying home for two weeks and Lily and I had to fly back to London. Niall and Lily seemed to have worked it out because they were holding hands in the back. Niall kept whispering to her and Lily looked very happy with him. I was sitting in the passenger seat next to Louis who was driving. He glanced in my direction every now and then, but didn't say anything.

We hadn't really had time to talk properly and neither of us seemed to be sure where we were standing. There was a bit of awkward tension between the two of us, but I was too shy to say anything. We pulled into the car park and everyone got out. Louis walked towards the back of the car and got our luggage from trunk. Niall helped him unload and Lily, who seemed to have notice the awkwardness between me and Louis, looked over to him and shot me a questioning glance. I shrugged and silently told her that we'd talk about it on the plane.

We had to say goodbye in the car park because Niall and Lily wanted to have some privacy to say goodbye and Niall was going to fly off from a different terminal. Niall walked Lily around the car out of sight and I turned around to face Louis. "So, um, I guess I'll see you next week? That is if you still want to come to the wedding with me." I added quickly and looked down to my feet. "Of course I still want to be your date to the wedding." Louis sounded surprised. "Why do you asked?" I blushed a bit.

"Because we kissed, twice, and now it's awkward and I don't know if we are just friends who've kissed, or dating or a couple and I never know what to say in these kind of situation, so I'll just shut up now." I blushed deeply and Louis chuckled. "Claire, look at me." I looked up at him. He was looking down at me with a fond look in his eyes. "We kissed. I like you, you like me. I know that you wanted to wait but I am not sure if I can stay friends with you when you are such a good kisser, you know? Makes it kind of difficult for me." He winked at me and hit his chest, but I had to fight a smile. "So, Claire Winters, would you like to go out on a date with me?" He asked me and my stomach flipped. "I would love to go on a date with you, Louis." We smiled at each other and he leaned down to kiss me. I met him halfway and we shared a short, but very sweet kiss.

"Oi, lovebirds!" Niall's voice interrupted us. We quickly pulled apart, but not fast enough. Lily and Niall had already seen us. I blushed, but Louis just smiled smugly and intertwined our fingers, to give my hand a little squeeze. "We gotta go now, sorry Claire." Niall smiled apologetically at me. I nodded and let go of Louis' hand to give him a proper hug. He hugged me back very tightly and pressed a kiss to my hair. I pulled away a bit and we shared one final kiss, before I had to let go. We all grabbed our bags and after Louis had hugged the other two, the three of us made our way through the carpark to the airport.

After a quick goodbye to Niall, Lily and I made our way through security to the gate and sat down next to each other. "What a weekend." Lily said next to me. "One of the best ones I've ever had." I said and Lily agreed with me. "So you and Niall worked it out then?" I asked her and a wide grin spread across her face, although she was trying to hide it. "We did. We'll go on a date when he's back in London for the start of the promo tour in two weeks." she told me happily and I gave her a hug. "I am so happy for you two. You really deserve each other." I told her and she grinned at me. "Thanks. Now, would you mind explaining to me what the fuck just happened in the car park?" she asked me and wiggled her eye brows at me.

Now it was my turn to blush. "Louis and I might have made out a little bit and he might have asked me out on a date." I mumbled. "Ha! I knew it! Finally!" Lily exclaimed loudly and some people around us shot her a weird look. "Be careful, I don't want anyone to hear us!" I shushed her and she giggled. "So are you two a thing now?" she asked me. I shrugged. "Well, we will go on a date sometime soon whenever he can squeeze it in and he is still my date for the wedding next week." Lily squeezed my leg. "Shit, this is so exciting! Half a year ago we didn't even know them and now we are going on dates!" I shushed her again, but I was just as excited as she was.

I told her all about what happened since we parted ways last night while we waited for our flight to start boarding. "Harry saw you in Louis' t-shirt without any trousers on? Shit, Claire." I giggled. "It was super awkward. He recognised Louis' clothes on the floor. Oh and yesterday, when he introduced me to his mum and stepdad and Gemma, they thought that we were dating and I choked and I just really wanted to die. It was so embarrassing and awkward, Lily!" Lily was laughing so hard next to me that she was crying. People were starting to stare again and she quickly tried to compose herself.

"You really tend to get into weird situations around Harry, don't you?" she laughed. I shrugged. "I just don't know why they would think that we are dating. I mean, do we look and act so much like a couple? And also, he is Harry Styles, I'm just me. As if I ever had a chance with him. It's like a beautiful sparkling unicorn next to um... a mule, which are very cute, but not as impressing and elegant as a sparkling unicorn if you know what I mean? With Louis, it's just easier, I guess? I feel like, even though he is this amazing guy who is not only insanely attractive but also super talented, he is still this normal guy who you could at least kind of imagine with a normal girl like me?" I sighed.

Lily gave me a very serious look. "Claire, now you will listen to me, okay?" I nodded. "You are one of the most amazing people I know. You are kind, you are funny, you are super beautiful and talented and any guy would be happy to have you. Louis likes you very much and I am sure you two will make a great couple and Harry will probably make an amazing friend. Ignore what other people say and listen to what your heart says, okay? And just hypothetically speaking, I think you could never look bad next to Harry Styles because you are both very beautiful and attractive people and his aura just makes everyone around him sparkle, too." We both laughed at the idea of Harry sprinkling sparkly dust over the people around him. "I didn't mean it literally!" Claire defended herself. "But do you get what I mean?" she added more seriously, and I nodded. "I do, thanks, Lil." I gave her a hug and she hugged me back just as tightly.

A few minutes later, our flight was announced and we could board the plane as one of the first people because Louis had bought us fast track passes after I had refused to let him spend too much money for a first or business class ticket on us. As we sat down I thought about how much had happened since I had arrived at the Doncaster Airport a little more than twenty-four hours ago. I leaned back and plugged my headphones in, letting Ed Sheeran lull me into sleep for the next hour or so.


	22. Accidents or How I Changed Wedding Dates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, just a short chapter tonight, but I hope you like it. Little bit of a plot twist here which I had been looking forward to since I first mentioned the wedding. ;) All the love, S

I spent the next few days mostly in the library where I tried to finish an essay which was due next week, but because of the wedding I would not be able to do much this weekend, if anything at all. I was really looking forward to seeing my parents again after such a long time, but I was incredibly nervous to introduce them to Louis. Would they like him? Would they approve of him? 

It was around noon on the Friday that I was supposed to drive up to Leeds with Louis and I had just walked out of my last lecture, when my phone rang. "Hello?" I answered without checking the caller ID first. "Claire? It's Louis." he sounded stressed and I instantly got nervous as well. "Louis? Are you okay?" Louis let out a deep sigh.

"I'm okay, but one of my sisters, Phoebe, had an accident at school and fell down the stairs and we just arrived at the hospital and I don't know if I'm gonna make it to the wedding tomorrow. I'm so sorry, Claire, but my mum is freaking out and we don't know how she is yet because she is in surgery right now." he sounded like he was about to burst into tears. "Shhhh, hey, Louis? Listen to me. It's okay, I'm sure Phoebe is gonna be just fine. You stay there and be there for your family and I'll try to find myself a date for the wedding, okay? And please keep me updated, okay?"

Louis let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks Claire for being so amazingly understanding. You have no idea how much that means to me." I smiled. "Family is very important, Louis, and your family needs you now, so of course I'll let you stay with your family. I'll talk to you later, okay? Give my love to the rest of the family and if there's anything I can do, please tell me, alright?"

I was trying to stay calm, but on the inside I was freaking out. I was worried about Phoebe, but I was also very much worried about myself because now I didn't have a wedding date less than twenty-four hours before the wedding. "I will text you later. Oh, and why don't you ask Harry if he'll be your date for the wedding? I'm sure he'd do it." There were some voices in the background. "I'm sorry, love, I gotta go. Take care! Bye!" He hung up on me and I stood alone outside the lecture theatre. "Bye." I said quietly and hung up as well. A few seconds later I received a text from Louis.

"Sorry that I had to hang up on you. I'll call you tonight. xxx"

I sighed and smiled at his text. I replied that I was looking forward to his phone call and then dialled Harry's number. It rang a few times before he picked up. "Hello?" He sounded a bit surprised that I had called him. "Hi Harry, it's me." I cleared my throat. "Oh, hi Claire. My apologies, I didn't check who was calling me before I accepted the call."

I could hear the smile in his voice. "No worries. Um, you don't happen to be free to go to a wedding with me tomorrow morning in Leeds by any chance, do you?" I asked him crossed my fingers. There was a short silence. "Did I get this right? You want me to go to a wedding with you tomorrow? In Leeds?" Harry asked. He sounded very confused. I chuckled nervously.

"My cousin Izzie is getting married tomorrow and Louis was supposed to be my date, but Phoebe had an accident in school and is in hospital and he had to go to Doncaster to support his family and won't be able to make it to the wedding tomorrow." I explained to him. "Shit, is Phoebe okay?" Harry asked concerned. "We don't know yet. Louis just called me and she was already in surgery. I hope it's nothing serious."

Harry sighed. "I really hope so, too. And of course I'll go to the wedding with you. Are you sure you want me there though?" I sighed in relief. "Yes, I'm absolutely sure. I will need a friend to help me get through this wedding." "Then I'll definitely be there to support you the best I can." Harry told me and I nearly did a happy dance, but I was a mature adult so I didn't, or I was at least pretending to be a mature person.

"Thank you so much Harry! You are a true angel." I told him and he laughed. "Well millions of teenage girls seem to believe it so it must be true." he joked. I rolled my eyes, but sadly he couldn't see it. "Oh shut up, Styles. There is just one more thing. Because the wedding is tomorrow, we kind of have to leave tonight?"

I cringed a bit and prayed that he wasn't busy tonight. "Oh that's no problem, at all. What time would you like to leave? I'll drive us." Why was he always so nice? Was he even real? "Oh no, Harry, you really don't have to drive us. You are already doing me a favour by coming to this wedding of my cousin and helping me survive my family. Just be at my place by five?" Harry chuckled. "I'll drive, Claire. We're not gonna argue about that. You've had an exhausting day at university. The most exhausting thing I did today was go for a walk and make myself something healthy for lunch. And I am sure your family is just as lovely as you are."

I sighed. "Alright, you win. Again, thank you so much Harry. I owe you one." I smiled widely and a guy who walked past me gave me a weird look. "I'll keep that in mind, love. I'll be at your place at five, just text me your address, alright?" I nodded and then remembered that he couldn't see me. "That's perfect, thank you! I'll see you later!" He chuckled. "Bye, Claire." As soon as I had hung up on Harry I texted Lily.

"SOS. Louis can't make it to the wedding and I'm taking Harry as my date. Call me when you get this." Lily replied a few seconds later. "HOLY SHIT. YOU ARE JOKING, RIGHT????!!! If you're not joking, then good luck. I have to work until late tonight, but keep me updated and remember you are just as sparkly as Harry. Love you loads! xxxxx" I chuckled and plugged my headphones in as I walked toward the Tube, trying to ignore the fact that I would turn up at my cousin's wedding with Harry Styles as my date, while I was kind of dating Louis Tomlinson. When did my life become so weird?


	23. Pinkie Promises or How Harry Styles Ended Up In My Bedroom

When Harry rang the doorbell at five, I was ready to go. I had spent about an hour trying to figure out what to wear for the wedding the next day and had settled on a white shift dress with a sort of elegant flower pattern on it which seemed to be appropriate for a wedding. I just hoped I could eat in the dress because food was always one of my top priorities.

I opened the door, a bit out of breath because I had just skipped down the hallway from my bedroom. "Hi." I gave Harry a wide smile which he returned. "Hi, love." He pulled me into one of his famous hugs. He was wearing a green shirt with some weird flowery pattern that had probably cost more than my monthly rent for the flat.

He let me go and I smirked. "Nice shirt." He tilted his head to the side and squinted his eyes at me. "I am not sure if you just complimented or insulted me." I gave him an innocent smile. "Just to let you know, it's a very good quality shirt that I'm very fond of." He did a twirl and I laughed at him. "And it's probably from some fancy designer. Who is it today? Yves Saint Laurent? Burberry? Calvin Klein?" I asked with a wide smirk. Mature as he was, he stuck his tongue out at me. "Actually, it's Gucci, Claire. You really need to work on your fashion knowledge." I chuckled. "What for? I'll just ask you, the men fashion expert." He shook his head at me, but couldn't suppress a smile.

"Alright, enough teasing. Are you all packed?" he asked me and I nodded. "All done. It took me forever to choose the right dress, but I think the one I chose will work. And hopefully you'll approve as well, Mr. Fashion Expert." I teased him. Harry rolled his eyes, but followed me towards my bedroom, his eyes wandering over the photos on the walls. When he entered my room, his eyes widened. One side of my room was completely covered in photos. I loved photography and hadn't been able to resist. It was a wide mix of photos that I had taken and photos I had found online.

There were a few photos of him and the other boys as well and I hoped that he wouldn't notice them. "You like photography?" Harry asked behind me while I checked my room one more time for something I could have forgotten. I chuckled nervously. "I can't really deny it, can I?" I asked with a nervous laugh. He chuckled, too. "Not really, no. It's just something I didn't know about you, I guess." I smiled a bit. "You don't know a lot of things about me." I told him and turned around to face him.

He rolled his eyes. "True, but we have a couple of hours to waste on the drive up to Leeds, so maybe we can use that time to get to know each other a bit more. For example, maybe you could explain to me why you have a bunch of photos of me and the boys next to your family photos in the very middle of your wall?" He grinned down at me and I blushed deeply. "Only if you tell me something about you as well."

He hesitated a bit, but then nodded. "Deal. Now, let's get going, otherwise we'll never make it to Leeds." He picked up my bag, ignoring my protests, and walked out of my room towards the front door. I made a quick stop at the kitchen and grabbed an apple, some chocolate and a bottle of water because I hadn't eaten since breakfast and was therefore starving.

Harry eyed the chocolate in my hand and raised one eyebrow. "Healthy choice of a snack, Claire." I stuck out my tongue at him and he laughed. "I haven't had any food since breakfast and I am starving so don't judge, Styles." His amused look changed into one of concern. "No food since breakfast, Claire? That's not very healthy." I sighed. "I know it's not, but I was a little bit busy today." Harry gave me a very concerned look. "It's very important to eat enough, Claire. Promise that you'll try to eat a bit during the next few weeks, even when you're stressed." I smiled up at him. "I promise." He stuck out his pinkie "Pinkie promise?" I grinned and hooked my pinkie through his. "Pinkie promise." He grinned down at me and we both burst out laughing at our mature actions.

He opened the passenger door for me and I hopped into the seat and buckled up. Harry gently closed the door and walked around the front of the car, pulling his long hair into a messy bun. I would never get enough of looking at the fascinating phenomenon that was Harry Styles. He opened the door and gracefully climbed into the driver's seat.

"And off we go." He started the car and the radio turned on, ironically playing 'Perfect. We both looked at each other and burst out laughing. This was gonna be a fun ride. I quickly sent Louis a text, telling him that Harry had agreed to be my date for the wedding tomorrow and asking how Phoebe was doing, before I chucked it into my purse and joined Harry as he loudly sang along to his own song.

The first ten minutes of our drive we spent singing along to the radio. Well, Harry sang along to the radio, I was humming quietly in the passenger seat. "Why aren't you singing along, love?" he asked me over the music. I chuckled. "Maybe because you are a worldwide known singer and I only sing when no one is around?"

We stopped at a traffic light and Harry turned his head in my direction. "That's not a proper reason not to sing. I'm sure you can sing well, love." I gave him an unsure look and smiled a bit. When the next song came on, I sang along nearly as loudly as Harry. He shot me a "See, told ya." look and we sang along to the next couple of songs until we reached the motorway. "Soooo..." Harry turned the music down a bit and shot me a questioning look. "Let's get to know each other a bit. I already know that you obviously aren't a fashion expert, otherwise you wouldn't have mocked my shirts or my golden boots." he said teasingly and I grinned a bit. "Are we gonna be really cliché and play twenty questions?" I asked him and after a couple of seconds he nodded. "Okay, you start." I told him and got comfortable in my seat, chewing on a piece of chocolate. I had offered Harry some, but he had kindly declined so I was now enjoying it all by myself. "Alright, we'll start easy. What's your favourite season of the year and why?" He asked me. I didn't have to think long.

"Autumn. I love how the leaves change colour and how the fallen leaves rustle underneath your feet. I love how I can be wrapped in a warm blanket on my sofa with a mug of tea, watching the pouring rain outside. And I just really love the smell of autumn if you know what I mean? It's a very musty, earthy smell." I blushed a bit after my vivid description. "I probably sound a bit crazy." I quickly added, but Harry gave me a genuine smile and shook his head. "Not at all, it sounds very poetic. I agree with you by the way, I like autumn best, too." He smiled and I couldn't help but smile, too. "Your turn." He said without looking at me, as he changed lanes.

"Ummmm... Do you really like kale so much or do you only pretend to like it because it's healthy?" I asked him and he burst out laughing. "Jumping to the deep stuff straight away, I see." I gave him a look. "No, seriously. That stuff is disgusting! How can you like it?" I pulled a face and he chuckled. "It's actually not that bad. And eating healthy is very important if you're trying to stay alive and particularly if you are very stressed, like I am often due to my job. I feel that when I at least try to eat healthy when I have no time to relax, my body can cope better with the stress." I thought about that for a moment. "That actually does make sense." I admitted and Harry chuckled. " I still don't get why it has to be kale out of all the healthy stuff out there, but everyone its own, I guess." We both laughed and then he went quiet for a bit, before he asked his second question.

"How did you and Lily meet?" I thought for a moment and smiled. "We met in school. We both went to a party and bonded over how we fancied the same guy. He later became her boyfriend, but thank God I didn't like him that way anymore by that time. That would have been awkward." I chuckled and smiled at the memories. "She just... gets me, I guess. She never judges me for anything and I can call her at three in the morning and she will be there for me and vice versa. We like the same music and movies and TV shows and I have no idea who I'd be without her." I told him with a smile. Harry looked over to me and returned the smile. "I'm glad that you have such an amazing friend in your life." I looked out of the window, my smile growing even bigger. "Me, too."

We played the question game for a while until we both only had one more question to ask. Harry was first and he hesitated a bit before he opened his mouth. "If you could do anything you wanted, what would you do and why?" He asked me with a curious look on his face. I thought about that for a bit. "Hmmmm... I don't even know where to start. I would love to be in a position where I can make a change in this world. I want to make this world a better place, as cheesy as that sounds. Even if I just make it better for one person, that'd be worth it. All those kids who don't have anyone, all those people, especially women, who don't have a voice. There is so much hatred and grief out there and I hate seeing people hopeless and in pain because I know exactly what it feels like, you know. I know what it's like to just want to give up, to not fight anymore, but I also know that it gets better and I want to give these people a reason not to give up."

We drove in silence for a minute or two and I was growing more anxious with every second. What if I had said too much? What if he hated me now? Then Harry pulled over and stopped at a pull-in and turned off the car. He turned over to face me and gently made me look at him. "Claire, hey. Look at me. You don't have to hide from me, okay?" I looked up at him, my face red like a tomato. "I know, I sound crazy, but-" but Harry interrupted me. "Crazy? You don't sound crazy. You just became one of the strongest and most beautiful people I have ever met." That didn't really help my blushing. "You have obviously been through stuff, but you are still here and you have not given up. Instead you want to help other people who feel the same way and if that's not a brave and beautiful thing to do, then I don't know what else is. So never, ever be ashamed of who you are, okay?" I nodded and he let go of me and started the car again. "Now, what about my last question, hm?" He gave me an encouraging smile and I tried to think of something I could ask him.

"You left home pretty young, right?" I asked him and he hummed. "Do you ever regret leaving home that young? I mean you've come so far, but I don't think I could have left home at sixteen. I mean you were just a kid being shipped around the world, doing amazing stuff, but doesn't it ever get, you know, lonely?" I asked hesitantly, scared that I had asked something too personal. Harry was silent for a moment, obviously thinking about his answer.

"I am incredibly thankful for what has happened to me over the past five years or so. I never ever imagined my life to turn out so great. I can do what I love, I love performing and I also love writing new songs. Music is my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. And the lads are like brothers to me. I am so incredibly grateful for the massive support that we have received from the fans I love giving back to them. I love being in a position where I can affect people's lives and change them for the better, you know?" He paused for a bit and then continued. "I know and appreciate all that, but sometimes it gets incredibly lonely. I hardly ever see my family, who is very important to me. I hardly ever see the few friends I have left outside of the band because I'm always on the road. I haven't even had the chance to meet a girl who is not just interested in Harry Styles, but in only Harry, the boy from Cheshire who used to work in a bakery. That's the downside of the whole thing. It does get lonely, for sure. I used to cry sometimes when I was younger, when we were on tour somewhere in Asia and I hadn't seen my family in five months. During the day it was all a massive adventure, but during the nights, in the dark, it sometimes got a bit too much. It got to all of us and I think that's what brought us even closer together. But nevertheless, I would do it all over again if I had the chance." He gave me a wary smile and I lightly squeezed his hand.

"We're both a bit messed up, aren't we?" I asked with a weak smile which he returned. "Thank you for listening to my rant." Harry thanked me quietly. A bit surprised, I looked over at him. "Thank YOU for opening up to me. I mean, I will obviously never know how you felt or sometimes still feel in any way, but I can sort of relate to what you said on some level. I would never wish anyone to go through what I went through, but in the end I am glad I did because it made me a stronger and probably also more compassionate person. It made me who I am today and as much as I don't like myself sometimes, I still wouldn't change who I am." Harry looked over at me. "I am glad you run into Louis on the train that day." he told me. I smiled at him. "Me, too."


	24. Surprises or How My Mum Thought That She's Funny

After our talk, we still had two hours left and I was getting kind of hungry again. However, I didn't want to say anything because Harry was driving me and I didn't want to make him stop just because I'm hungry. We listened to some music on the radio for a bit and counted red cars when my stomach grumbled very loudly.

My cheeks turned red with embarrassment and Harry laughed. "Is someone hungry?" he asked teasingly and I glared at him. "Someone will get very cranky if she doesn't get any food soon." I grumbled under my breath and Harry shot me an amused look.

A few minutes later, he drove off the motorway and stopped at a tiny restaurant/pub sort of thing in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. "Do you think you will be okay to go in?" I asked Harry with a concerned look towards the people inside the pub. To be fair, there didn't seem to be a lot of people in there, so he might not even get noticed.

Harry looked over to the pub and shrugged. "I think I should be okay. I mean it's not like I can get mopped in a small place like that anyway." He said with a grin and I rolled my eyes at him. "Alright, your decision. But if people do recognise you I'll just pretend that I don't know you." I said with a smirk and now it was his turn to roll his eyes.

We both climbed out of the car, Harry a bit more gracefully than me. I nearly fell out of the car when I tried to get out, because my cardigan had gotten caught in the door somehow. Harry couldn't hide a smirk as he walked over to my side to help me out of the car. "Don't say anything, Styles." I told him and he held up his hands. "Wasn't going to, Winters." he assured me, but the amused twinkle in his eyes gave him away. I scoffed. "Right." Harry gave me a little nudge which made me stumble and I glared at him. Unfortunately that didn't seem to scare him in the slightest. He only chuckled and held the door open for me.

As Harry had predicted in the car, there weren't many people in the pub and the ones who were there didn't seem to care about the fact that Harry Styles had just walked through the door. We sat down in a small booth at the back of the pub and looked around. It was very warm and cosy, but at the same time kind of surreal because I had never imagined myself sitting in a small pub in the middle of nowhere with Harry Styles of all people.

"What would you like to eat?" Harry asked me and I looked at the menu for a few seconds. "Um... the veggie burger with some chips, I think." He nodded and got up, but I put my hand on his arm to stop him. "Where do you think you are going, mister?" I asked him and he shot me a confused look. "Getting our food?" he asked back. I shook my head at him.

"No, no, no, no, you are not paying for my food as well. You are already driving!" I told him and a smile started to spread across his face. "Claire, I appreciate the fact that you are not trying to use me for my money, but I know that you are a bit tight on money and I have too much to know how to spend it so, please just let me pay for your food tonight, okay? You can pay the next time we have some food together." He gave me his best puppy eyes and I couldn't say no to that so I just nodded and slumped back into my seat with a defeated sigh. Harry grinned down at me and then strolled over to the bar to order our food.

When he came back a couple of minutes later, he was balancing two plates with food and two glasses with some sort of soft drink on a tray. "You ordered some food, my lady." He said jokingly and bowed a bit. My stomach answered for me with a loud grumble and we both laughed. He slit next to me into the booth and carefully placed the food and the drinks in front of us on the table. "I didn't know what you wanted to drink so I got us some sort of lemon drink and something with raspberry. You can choose which ever one you would like to have." I took the raspberry one and pushed the lemon one over to Harry. We ate in silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other's company and the surprisingly very yummy food.

"Would you like to try my lemon drink?" Harry offered me his glass and I nodded and took a small sip. "That's really good! Not as good as my raspberry stuff, but good nevertheless. Here." I pushed my glass over to him and he took a small sip and nodded approvingly. "Not bad." We quickly finished our food and drinks and after we had both used the bathroom, we made our way back to Harry's car to continue or drive. "I think it would have been faster if we had used the train." I thought out loud and Harry nodded. "You're probably right, but this has been fun so far, so I'm not regretting the drive. Plus, it gives us a bit more privacy, which probably wouldn't have been guaranteed on a train."

We spent the last hour and a half listening to music from Harry's phone. We were interrupted for a bit when Louis called me to tell me that Phoebe was out of surgery and was doing well. We both told him how happy we were for him and he thanked Harry for looking after me and driving me up all the way to Leeds to accompany to the wedding.

"No problem, mate." Harry assured him. "She is not as bad as I thought." I hit him and Louis laughed. "I'm sad that I'll miss the wedding, but my mum's happy about any support she can get, so I'm glad that Claire found someone." After a few minutes of talking, Louis hung up and we continued our drive to the hotel my mum had texted me.

When we finally stopped in front of the hotel, it was ten o'clock and we were both very exhausted. My mum had texted me to tell me that they were still at the Izzie's place and that they would meet us tomorrow morning at breakfast. She texted me my booking number and the name it was on and I got a bit suspicious at the fact that she had only texted me one number, but tried to ignore that for time being.

Harry unloaded the trunk and carried both of our bags to the reception, ignoring my protests again. The eyes of the reception wandered over Harry approvingly, but she didn't seem to recognise him which I was very glad about.

"Hi, I'm Claire Winters. My cousin made a reservation for us here at your hotel. On the name Winters." I told her with a smile and she finally took her eyes off Harry to look at me. "Number, please?" she asked me in a rude tone and after I told her the number she looked through some stuff on the computer and then handed me a room card. "Um, only one card?" I asked her nervously and she nodded. "Yes, it's only one room, darling. Do you need two cards?" I shot Harry a look who didn't seem to mind the fact that he would be sharing with me and shook my head. "You don't happen to have another room free, do you?" I asked her and ignored the hurt look that crossed Harry's face. "I'm afraid we are all booked out because of the wedding." She told me, well more Harry than me, but whatever. "Fine." I gave in and signed a form to confirm that I had received the room card.

"Alright let's go." I told Harry who quickly said goodnight to the lady at the reception who seemed sad to see him leave. When we were in the lift, I quickly texted my mum.

"ONE ROOM, MUM?! I'm bringing a friend and not a boyfriend, mum!!!"

A few seconds later I got a reply.

"I'm just helping you out, Claire. Maybe he won't be "only a friend" after this weekend is over. ;) Mum xxx"

I rolled my eyes at that and ignored her text. Harry cleared his throat. "So we're gonna share a room for the next two nights?" he asked me and I nodded. "I'm afraid we will. I'm sorry, my mum thought this was a wonderful idea." Harry gave my shoulder a light squeeze. "Hey, it's not that bad. At least we can look after each other if we should get too drunk again." I laughed. "That might very well happen with my whole family present." I warned him and he laughed and then followed me down the corridor to the room that I would be sharing with him. Fantastic.


	25. Shower Thoughts Or How I Woke Up Next To Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, a short chapter, sorry. All the love, S

When my alarm went off at 8.30am the next morning, I needed a few seconds to figure out where I was. I was lying in a very comfortable bed which, as I suddenly realised, I was sharing with Harry. I remembered very distinctly that we had fallen asleep on different sides of the bed, but we had ended up with our bodies tangled together, my head lying on Harry's chest. I quickly tried to roll back over to my side of the bed and Harry, who had seemed to have woken up as well, let go off me as if he had burned himself. I blushed a bit and sat up. "Morning." I said, my voice still a bit croaky after just waking up. Harry smiled at me. "Good morning, love." He sat up as well and run a hand through his messy curls.

Let me tell you something, a tired, shirtless Harry Styles is a beautiful view in the morning. I openly stared at him, until he turned his head to look at me and I blushed. Louis popped up in my head and I felt a bit guilty not only for starring at Harry, but also for sharing a bed with him all night, even though it was just as friends. But then again, I didn't really have a choice in that matter, thanks to my mum.

I quickly got up and tried to pull Louis' shirt, which I was sleeping in, down as far as possible to cover up my bare legs. I had not packed a proper pyjama because I had expected to have a room for myself. Harry's eyes wandered down to my bare legs until I cleared my throat. "Sorry." he quietly apologised. I walked over to my bag and took out the clothes I was going to wear today.

"Would you mind if I took a shower first?" I asked Harry shyly and he shook his head. "No, it's fine. You probably need a bit more time to get ready anyway." He smirked and I rolled my eyes at him. I grabbed the back with my toiletries and my dress and underwear and went into the bathroom. I locked the door behind me and took a quick shower. 

Trying to get ready as fast as possible, I nearly hit my head when I tripped over a towel. I cursed quietly and there was a knock on the door. "Claire? Are you okay?" Harry sounded very concerned and I quickly assured him that I was fine. "Physically I'm fine, emotionally I'm bruised." I said and quickly applied some make-up to my face. "Haha, very funny, Claire." he he said through the door, but he didn't sound very annoyed at all. "I'm glad you think so." I told him and giggled.

After I had finished my hair and make-up, I put on my dress and then realised that there was no way I would be able to pull the zipper up myself. I took a deep breath and walked over to the door and unlocked it. Hesitantly, I opened the door and pocked my head out. Harry was sitting on the bed, looking through his phone. He looked up when he saw me and his eyes widened. "You look beautiful, love." he told me and I blushed. "Thanks. Um... I can't get the zipper at the back. Could you maybe...?" I asked and stepped into the room.

Harry put his phone down, got up and walked over to me. I turned around and a few seconds later I felt Harry's big hands on my back, slowly zipping me up. He brushed my hair to the side and my breath hitched. "Think about Louis." I told myself in my head. "This is just a normal reaction of someone who hasn't had someone in a long time and it's Harry Styles for heaven's sake. Who wouldn't react this way?" As soon as he was finished, I quickly stepped away from him. "Thank you." He smiled at me, but his eyes were unreadable. "You are welcome, love." He hesitated a bit and then walked over to his bag, took his clothes out and walked over to the bathroom to take a shower.

I decided to use the time to call Louis who picked up after a few rings. "Hey, love." I smiled widely when I heard his voice. "Hey, Lou. How is Phoebe doing?" I asked him and I heard him sigh. "Loads better. The doctors are very happy with how she is doing and she will probably be discharged by the end of the week." He sounded very happy and relieved. "That's amazing news, Louis." There was a short pause. "So, are you looking forward to the wedding today? Is Harry really okay with being your date?" He asked me and I looked over to the bathroom. "I am, even though I'm not sure how I'll survive my family. And I think he's fine. He's taking a shower at the moment." 

There was a long silence at the other end of the line. "How do you know that Harry's taking a shower, love?" Louis asked and I could hear a hint of bitterness and surprise in his voice. I took a deep breath. "My mum had the 'brilliant' idea to put me and whoever my date would be into one room. She thinks I need a boyfriend." I laughed nervously. "But you have nothing to worry about, Louis. Harry and I are just friends and I can't even tell you how much I wish that you were here right now. Plus, this way he can take care of me in case I'll get as drunk as last week, which isn't completely unlikely."

"You are probably right, love." Louis sounded tense and not entirely convinced. "Louis, listen to me. Me being here with Harry doesn't change anything about how I feel about you, okay?" Louis hummed. "I know, it's just ... I really want us to work out, Claire. I trust you and I trust Harry, so I shouldn't be jealous. My head is all over the place because of Phoebe, I'm sorry." I smiled a bit. "Nothing to be sorry for, I totally get it. I'd probably react the same way if the roles were reversed. I'll talk to you later or tomorrow, okay?" Louis sighed. "Okay, I'm looking forward to your call, love." I smiled widely. "Me, too."


	26. Great-Aunt Amanda or How Harry Met My Family

Harry and I arrived at the church half an hour before the service started. I was so nervous that I felt like throwing up. Harry, who was driving, occasionally looked over to me, but didn't say anything. We parked down the road, a few minutes away from the church and I took a shaky breath and closed my eyes. I felt a big, warm hand on my hands which were clasped tightly together in my lab. "Claire?" I opened my eyes and looked over to Harry. "Are you okay?" I nodded, but he didn't seem convinced. "Why are you so nervous? It's just your family, right?" he asked me and I sighed.

"That's the problem here. It IS my family and I am coming to my cousin's wedding with a worldwide known singer and songwriter as my date, for fuck's sake! And my mum will probably do everything to get the two of us into awkward situations because she wants me to have a boyfriend and she doesn't know about Louis or you, or any of the boys for that matter, and I don't know how she'll react and I'm KIND OF freaking out right now." Harry tried to hide a grin, but he was doing a very poor job at hiding it. His eyes were twinkling with amusement and his mouth twitched.

"I am sure everything will be just fine." Harry tried to soothe my nerves. "I mean, yes, I am your date for today and yes, I am kind of known around the world, but that doesn't change who I am as a person, does it? I'm still just a good friend of yours who is accompanying you to your cousin's wedding. In an Yves Saint Laurent suit, but that's not that important, is it?" He smirked and I rolled my eyes. "No one will be able to tell the difference between your suit and theirs." I said and Harry frowned. "They won't? What a shame. But your lack of knowledge about fashion must come from somewhere, so I suppose I'll have tell some more people about the complicated world of fashion." I chuckled. "You do that and I'll pretend that I don't know you." Harry pouted and placed his hand over his heart. "You wound me, Claire."

After a few seconds of hesitation, I opened the car door and carefully climbed out of the car. Harry walked around the car and offered me his arm which I gratefully took. "You'll be fine, Claire. I'm here supporting you through the whole thing." Harry reassured me and I lightly squeezed his arm in response. We walked up to the church and I already spotted my mum next to the church door, welcoming people. When she spotted me her whole face broke into a wide smile. "Claire!" She nearly run over to me and pulled me into a warm hug that I happily returned. "I missed you so much." she said into my ear and gave me a tight squeeze. "I missed you, too, Ma." I told her. She pulled back a bit and let her eyes wander over me. "You look beautiful, honey. A bit too thin, but we'll feed you loads today." We smiled at each other.

Behind me, Harry cleared his throat. "That's what I've been trying to tell her. She needs to stop skipping meals." My mum's eyes widened when she spotted Harry. "Oh, wow, you must be Claire's 'friend'." She looked over to me and mouthed "Holy shit." I blushed rolled my eyes and my mum turned back around to face Harry who had offered her his hand. She ignored it and pulled him into a hug. "Hi, I'm Martha. It's very nice to meet you." She let go of Harry and beamed up at him. "I'm Harry, nice to meet you, too." Harry introduced himself and my mum smiled.

"Oh you two have to come inside, you'll be seated at the very front with the rest of the close family." My mum grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him along with her. He sent me a helpless glance but I just grinned at him and followed them into the church. Harry's presence didn't go unnoticed by a lot more people than I had hoped. Especially the female wedding guests sat up a bit more and started fixing their hair when they spotted Harry. I wasn't sure how many actually recognised Harry as the Harry Styles, but he was a very attractive man, famous or not, and it was only fair that he would get noticed by some people.

We sat down next to my dad who was seated at the very end of the row in his wheel chair. Harry acted as if he couldn't see the wheel chair and respectfully introduced himself to my dad who seemed to approve of my choice of a date. I sat down next to him with Harry on my other side and my dad took my hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. "It's good to see you, Claire." I smiled at him and he smiled back at me. "It's very good to see you, too, dad."

The church was filling up very quickly and I had to stand up and greet a couple of relatives who all seemed to be very interested in Harry. My great-aunt Amanda talked to him for at least five minutes until my cousin Paul carefully told her that she had to sit down in order for the ceremony to start. She promised Harry that they'd continue their conversation later and Harry slumped back into the seat next to me and ran a hand through his curls.

"Wow, that woman can talk." Harry groaned quietly next to me and I giggled. "I'm sorry that I couldn't save you." I patted his arm and he grabbed my hand and held it in between his big ones. "You have to keep her away from me, Claire." He told me with a desperate look in his eyes and I giggled. "You have sat through countless of boring, repetitive interviews. Surely, you'll handle a quick chat with an older lady for a few minutes." I said teasingly and he gave me a stern look. "I don't think you understand how serious this situation is, Claire." he said in a serious tone and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing out loud.

"You'll be fine, Harry. We'll probably be seated somewhere close to my parents or some other young people." He let out a relieved sigh. "Good. I like your parents, by the way." He smiled down at me and I looked over to my dad and my mum who had sat down next to him. "I think they like you, too." I told him and he seemed happy with my answer.

A few seconds later, the music started and my cousin walked down the aisle with my uncle Thomas. We stayed silent throughout the duration of the service and only squeezed my arm or my knee from time to time when he felt me get emotional. The service was beautiful and Izzie and Daniel seemed to be in their own world.

After the ceremony, Harry and I quickly made our way outside while trying to avoid particularly my great-aunt Amanda. We said our congratulations and Izzie, who seemed to recognise Harry, pulled first me and then Harry into a hug. While she was hugging me, she whispered into my ear. "How the fuck did you convince Harry Styles to be your date to my wedding?" I only smirked after I had pulled back and gave Daniel a quick hug as well. I took Harry's hand in mine and pulled him along with me towards his car. "We'll meet you at the reception!" I shouted in Izzie's direction and she mouthed a "We'll talk later." and waved before she turned around to greet another wedding guest.

When we had reached the car, I realised that I was still holding Harry's hand and quickly let go of it. He opened the passenger door for me and I thanked him silently. After he had climbed into the driver's seat I told him the address where the reception would take place and he started the car and carefully drove down the road past the church.

"Thank you for doing this for me." I thanked him again. He turned his head to look at me. "Don't mention it, love. Just keep me hidden from your lovely great-aunt Amanda and save me from the female part of the wedding party and we'll be okay." I grinned at him. "Can't guarantee to keep you hidden from my great-aunt, but I'll try to keep you save from the other women." I said with a smirk and Harry chuckled. "I'll take your word for it, love." I smirked and turned the radio on and we sang along to some music until we reached the hotel where the reception would be held at.


	27. The Wedding Or How Harry Told A Funny Joke and I Saved Someone

When Harry had parked the car in the hotel car park, he quickly got out of the car and opened the door for me. He helped me out and I thanked him and tried to smooth my dress which had ridden up during the ride and was now exposing the majority of my legs. I blushed and looked around to check if someone saw me.

"Calm down, the only one who saw your legs is me and I already saw them this morning." Harry said quietly into my ear and I blushed and hit his chest. "Shut up, Styles." He bowed a bit, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and said with an incredibly posh accent "As you wish, Milady." I rolled my eyes, took my purse and wrapped my scarf around me. It was already November and way too cold to be wearing a sleeveless dress.

Harry seemed to have noticed that I was about to freeze to death because he pulled me into his side and we walked a bit faster. When we had reached the inside of the hotel, I breathed out in relief. Harry let go of me and offered me his arm which I gratefully accepted. "Remember what I said in the car?" asked Harry quietly into my ear. I nodded and clung onto his arm as we walked into the big, beautifully decorated room, where the reception was taking place.

As soon as we walked in, my eyes fell onto my dad who was already there, sitting at one of the tables and sipping a glass of what looked like orange juice. He spotted us and waved us over to him. Harry, who was obviously relieved to see a familiar face that wasn't my great-aunt Amanda, smiled and waved a bit and we walked over to where my dad was sitting. "Hello you two." my dad greeted us with a smile. "Did you find your way here alright?" Harry nodded and replied for us. "It was fairly easy and Claire kept me great company throughout the whole ride." My dad smiled up at me. "Is that so?" he asked and gave me a knowing look. I silently tried to communicate with him, but his eyes were already back on Harry. 

"You two will have to sit with us." he told us and padded the seat next to him. Harry pulled out the chair for me and then sat down on my other side. The three of us chatted a bit, mostly about the ride and the ceremony until Harry's eyes widened and he suddenly became very pale. "Claire." he whispered, panic written all over his face. My dad shot him an amused look until his eyes wandered over to the door and he suddenly didn't look so amused anymore.

"Claire, it's great-aunt Amanda! Hide me, quick!" Harry and my dad shared a concerned look and then looked over to me. I grinned widely. "Aww are two grown men scared of a lovely old lady?" I teased them. They both send me angry look and I held up my hands. "Okay, okay. I'll save you, but you both owe me one." I told them sternly and got up with a sigh. I put on my best fake smile and walked over to my great-aunt Amanda. I tried to stand in the right angle so that I would stand in front of where my dad and Harry were sitting behind me.

"Hi auntie Amanda! It's so good to see you again. Should I show you to your seat?" I asked her and she smiled at me. "You have always been such a lovely young lady, Claire. Thank you that would be lovely." I offered her my arm and positioned her at a table near the window where she would have a nice view outside, but was sitting with the back towards my dad and Harry who gave me thumbs up. I had to stay and talk to her for another five minutes until the bride and groom arrived and I could excuse myself.

I hurried back to our table and slumped down into the seat next to Harry who was grinning down to me. "Did you have a nice chat?" he asked me and I hit him with my purse. "Oi, no need to become violent!" he protested. My dad looked over to the two of us and shook his head. "My ears are ringing." I told him quietly and he chuckled, his dimples on full display. I was very tempted to reach out and poke on of them, but I was in public and my dad was watching us intently, so I didn't.

The reception was lovely. The food was amazing and I chatted with Harry and my parents for the majority of the time. At one point it got a bit awkward. My dad, who seemed to like Harry, had asked him what he was doing for living and I choked on my food. Harry patted my back and gave me something to drink. I blushed madly and apologised to the others. "So Harry, back to my question. What are you doing at the moment? Are you working? Or studying like our Claire?" my dad asked him and Harry cleared his throat. "I'm, um, I'm already working."

My dad's eyebrows shot up and he leaned forward, obviously very interested. "What are you doing for a living then?" Harry exchanged a hesitant look with me and I silently told him to tell them the truth. "I'm a singer and songwriter." He told them and my mum shot me an approving glance. "Really?" asked my dad and looked over to me. "So how much money do you make a year?" I shot him a look. "Dad!" He looked up. "What?" Underneath the table, Harry squeezed my hand. "Several million, Sir. I, um, I'm kind of in an internationally known band, with three other mates. We are called One Direction. Maybe you have heard of us before?" My mum clapped a hand in front of her mouth, but my dad seemed to be lost in thought.

"I knew you looked familiar! Claire, since when do you know famous people like Harry?" my mum asked me excitedly. I felt Harry wince at the word famous. I knew how much he hated the word and quickly replied to my mum's question to distract him. "Um, since August? I run into Harry's band mate, Louis-who was originally supposed to be my date instead of Harry here- on the tube and then we met again when they showed up at work and now I'm kind of friends with all of them." My dad cleared his throat and my mum asked loudly "All of them? Wow, Claire. You never told us you were friends with them!" I looked down at my plate. "Sorry, Ma, Dad." I apologised and sent them an apologetic smile.

My dad suddenly looked up. "Now I remember the name of your song. It was 'Best Song Ever', wasn't it?" He asked Harry who looked relieved. "That is correct, sir." He confirmed with a smile. After that, the topic was dropped which not only me, but also Harry was very thankful for.  
After lunch it was time for the first dance of the bride and groom and they danced to Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud'. I leaned over to Harry to whisper something in his ear. "Isn't that your favourite song that he wrote on the guitar you gave him?" Harry nodded and then grinned and leaned over to whisper something back. "You really have watched every single interview we've ever given, haven't you?" he asked me and I blushed a bit. "Not every interview, no. I just remember this fact because it's my favourite song from his second big album, as well." Harry didn't look very convinced.

When the song had ended a few other people joined the couple on the dance floor and Harry got up. He bowed in front of me and held out his hand. "Miss Winters, would you do me the honours of dancing with me?" I blushed and put my hand into his. "I'd love to, Mr Styles. Although I have to warn you, my dancing skills are non-existent." Harry grinned. "Non-sense, everyone can dance." he told me and pulled me onto the dance floor.

We danced for the remainder of the song and I was very much aware of Harry's hand on my back and my small hand in his big one. This whole situation was completely surreal. I was dancing with Harry Styles at my cousin's wedding. Then next song started and we both had to laugh. "Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me..." Harry quietly sang along into my ear. I giggled a bit. I wasn't sure if the DJ knew that Harry was dancing with me on the dance floor of if the song was merely a coincidence, but it was funny either way.

Harry stayed quiet throughout Louis part which I found incredibly kind of him, although it was a bit weird listening to Louis sing when I was dancing with Harry. I closed my eyes and imagined myself being held by Louis, but it was very difficult when there was so little space between me and Harry. When the song had ended, I saw Izzie waving at me from across the room. I pulled away from Harry, who seemed a bit disappointed to let me go, and excused myself.

Izzie pulled me aside for a talk. "Soooooo... how the fuck did that happen?" she asked me curiously and nodded towards Harry who was now chatting with my dad again. I smirked and nodded towards her growing tummy. "How did that happen?" She grinned. "Don't answer a question with another question, Claire. You go first." I grinned. "Alright, it's a bit of long story, but I'll try to keep it short." I warned her and quickly told her the whole story of how I had met Louis and how I was kind of going to a date with him and how Harry had ended up becoming my date to her wedding. Izzie looked a bit confused. "Did I get this right? You and Harry aren't dating?" I shook my head. "No, why does everyone keep assuming that?" I asked her confused and she grinned.

"Honey, the way he looks at you says otherwise. But you and Louis are dating? Seriously? And you two kissed? You kissed Louis Tomlinson?" I blushed deeply and tried to ignore her comment about Harry. "Yes, we kissed last weekend. I never wanted to date someone who is being followed by the media and everything, but I couldn't help myself. Lou is such a great guy and I feel completely normal and comfortable around him. He is kind, he is funny and he doesn't act like he is a freaking millionaire who is wanted by millions of girls around the world at all." I smiled and Izzie chuckled. "What?" I asked her confused. "You've got it bad." she told me and smirked. I rolled my eyes, but didn't deny anything.

Then she got serious again. "But Claire, you have to sort out the situation with Harry. I obviously don't know how you are feeling about him. You two seem to be very good friends, but I am not sure if he isn't feeling more for you." I bit my lip and looked over to Harry who was still talking to my parents. As if he had felt my eyes on him, he looked up and met my gaze. I gave him a shy smile which he returned before he turned back towards my dad. Izzie coughed and I looked at her again. Behind us I heard Daniel shout for Izzie to come over to where he was standing with some relatives. She pulled a face at me and excused herself and I walked over to where Harry and my parents were sitting.

When I arrived at the table, my parents were both laughing and Harry was grinning very proudly. "Harry just told us a hilarious joke." my dad told me and I smirked. "I doubt that, but let me hear." Harry pouted but happily told the joke again. "Knock, knock." he said. "Who's there?" I asked and he grinned widely. "You know." I raised an eyebrow. "You know who?" I asked and then I got it and started laughing as well. "That one is actually quite funny. I'm impressed. I didn't know you were a Harry Potter fan." I told him and he looked very smug. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, love." he repeated my words from yesterday and we both laughed and continued the conversation with my parents.


	28. Late Night Talks Or How Harry Might Marry Me

It was late at night and Harry and I had just arrived back at the hotel we were staying in. I was surprisingly not completely wasted, only a little bit tipsy, but so was Harry. He had made the whole family encounter a lot more endurable. It had been particularly nice to see my parents and Izzie again, especially my dad. He had stayed strong for most of the day, but towards the evening he had been very tired and exhausted, but happy to that he got the chance to see me.

We entered our room and I flopped down onto the bed. "Ugh, I'm exhausted." Behind me, Harry chuckled. "Well it was an exhausting day. But your parents are lovely. Your dad is a great man and your mum was very, um, welcoming." He grinned and I groaned and hid my face in the sheets. "What did she say when we were saying goodbye?" I asked him. "She asked me whether I was single and if I had any intentions of marrying you soon." I whipped my head around. "She did not!" Harry smirked. "Yes, she did."

I hit my face in my hands. "I am so sorry. She wants to have grandchildren very soon." He laughed. "What did you tell her?" I asked him through my fingers. "I told her that I was happily single and still waiting for the right girl to come along and swipe me off my feet and that if you were not currently showing interests in one of my best friends and in desperate need of a husband, I would totally marry you." I looked up. He was standing next to the bed, grinning down at me like a Cheshire Cat.

"While I appreciate the kind offer, I really want to kill you right now for telling my mum about Louis and that you are remotely interested in me. She will never leave me alone!" Harry smirked. "Awww, Claire, are you, a grown woman of twenty-two, scared of your mum?" I glared at him and crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Well, maybe not so grown-up after all." Harry teased me and took off his jacket. He pulled his hair into a bun and laid down next to me.

There was a short pause. "Thank you for coming with me today. I hope you had a good time even though you had to endure great-auntie Amanda and my horrific dancing." Harry turned his head to look at me. "I had a great time and you are not as bad at dancing as you think." He smiled at me and gently pushed a loose strand of hair out of my face. "You are a great friend, Harry. I don't know what I'd do without you." I told him and he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes anymore. "I'm a very lucky guy to have you as a friend." he told me and gave my hand a light squeeze.

I sat up. "I think I should get some sleep." I told him and he nodded. "Um, could you, maybe, unzip me?" I asked him hesitantly. "Of course." He got up as well and motioned me to turn around. He gently pushed my hair over my shoulder and carefully unzipped me. "All done." he told me and I quickly walked towards the bathroom to change into my pyjamas and to wash the make-up off my face.

When I returned to the bedroom a couple of minutes later, Harry had changed into a pair of pyjama pants and of course he was freaking shirtless. I tried to keep my eyes up on his face and hopped underneath the blankets. Quietly, he walked over to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and got comfortable. I sent Louis a short good night text to which he replied with a "Good night, love. I miss you, we definitely have to try to meet up and have our date before promo starts soon. xxx" I smiled at the text and quickly replied. "I miss you, too, Lou. I am very excited for our date and I can't wait to see you soon. xxx"

A few minutes later, Harry entered the room and walked around the bed. He got under the sheets and turned off the lights. There was a short pause. "You don't have to tell me, but... Your dad is an amazing man and I like him very much. I was just wondering why he is, you know..." "In a wheelchair." I finished the sentence and Harry hummed. I sighed. "My dad is ill. He has a type of very rare disease where his muscles are slowly getting weaker and weaker, especially in his legs. That's the reason why he can't stand or walk for longer times anymore. It's getting a lot worse at the moment and he has some other things as well. The doctors are unsure how long he has left." I told him and I felt Harry shift next to me.

He took my right hand into his and squeezed it tightly. "I am so sorry, Claire. He is such an amazing man who definitely doesn't deserve any of this. How long has this been going on?" he asked me. "For at least ten years now. It started off very slowly, but especially the muscle thing is getting worse." I paused. "I just don't know how to deal with this. I mean he is my dad and I hate to see him like this. And I'm hardly ever home because I have to work so hard to pay my bills in London." I let out a shaky breath and Harry pulled me into him.

"Shhh, Claire. It's not your fault, okay? None of this is your fault. You are living your dream in London and your dad supports you 100%. He is so proud of you and we just talked about you most of the time today. He doesn't want you to be worried about him, alright?" I nodded and hugged him a bit. "Thank you for being here for me." "Any time, Claire, any time. And I'm sure Louis would totally support you as well, if you told him." I hummed. "I'll have to tell him at some point, yes, but it's not something you just bring up in a conversation, is it?" Harry chuckled. "Fair enough." We stayed silent for a few minutes.

"I think I should sleep now." I told him quietly and Harry lifted his arm so that I could roll back over to my side of the bed. I blushed a bit and cleared my throat. "Would you, um, would you mind holding me tonight? I think I just need someone to be there for me." I admitted quietly. Harry wrapped his arm around me and got comfortable. "No problem, love. I'm glad that I'm here to help you. That's what friends are for, right?" I nodded against his chest and I felt him lightly kiss my forehead. "Good night, love." He gently squeezed my hand under the blankets and I smiled in the dark. "Good night, Harry."


	29. Surprise Visitors Or How Niall And Lily Finally Went On A Date

The next day we slept in and left the hotel around eleven o'clock. Harry insisted on driving back, so in return I insisted on paying for the sandwiches and the drinks we bought for the drive. We had a short discussion, but in the end he gave in and I did a victory dance which he watched in amusement. I had thought it would be awkward after our cuddling session last night, but it had only made me appreciate Harry more as the amazing friend he was to me. Our talk last night had definitely brought us closer together and I knew that I could call him any time to talk about my dad without being pitied or judged for it.

"So, are you looking forward to finally releasing the album?" I broke the silence. Harry grinned. "Are we doing an interview now, love?" he asked me with a smirk and I rolled my eyes. "No, we're not. I'm just curious." I defended myself. "Sure you are." Harry teased and I hit his arm. "Oi, I'm driving!" he protested. Now it was my turn to smirk. "So, are you going to answer my question?" I asked him again and he nodded.

"I'm really looking forward to next Friday for sure. It's always great to see the reaction of the fans. But on the other hand you put something really personal out there for everyone to hear and to judge and that's still a bit scary, you know? And the album promo will be very exhausting, but it's the last one for at least a year and we're all incredibly proud of this album so I'm also kind of looking forward to promoting it. It's just annoying that the interviewers seem to enjoy picking on me. Like, I'm always the womanizer of the group but I can't say anything about it because that would be rude. But it sure gets annoying when you get asked the same questions over and over again." he told me and gave me a weak smile.

I nodded. "I totally get that. Trust me we've all noticed that. I can sometimes predict your answers before you even open your mouth." Harry grinned. "Is that so? Well then I'll have to give a surprise answer in an interview at some point." I gave him a challenging look. "You try that and we'll see how surprised I'll be." Harry shifted his focus back onto the road and I quickly texted my parents and thanked them for being so nice and welcoming towards Harry and that it had been amazing to see them again.

"So, Claire, tell me." Harry began and smirked at me. "Are YOU looking forward to listening to One Direction's new album Made In The AM for the first time on Friday?" I pretended to have to think about it and stroked my non-existent beard. "Well you see, they are kind of my favourite band out there and the last two albums were amazing, so I have to say I'm very much looking forward to finally listening to the new songs yes. Plus, they all seem to be very nice and talented lads so I wish them all the best for the new album and a very relaxing break as well." I said with a wide fake smile and batted my eyelashes at Harry who chuckled.

"You are such a weirdo, Claire." he told me and I gasped. "A weirdo? Me?" Next to me Harry shook his head at my childish behaviour. "As if you are perfectly normal." I said to him. Harry looked over to me. "Me? I'm perfectly normal, thank you very much." I giggled. "Sure, Styles, whatever helps you sleep at night." He smiled a bit. "You are quite sassy, love. Louis and you would make a great couple." I blushed a bit and Harry gave me a look. "Did something happen between the two of you?" he asked me with a smirk and wiggled his eyebrows at me. "Like when he was definitely in your bathroom when I said goodbye last weekend?" I blushed even more. "Not what you think! We just kissed. And he might have asked me out." I added more quietly.

There was something in Harry's eyes that I couldn't quite name, but then he smiled at me and this time it was a real smile. "I'm happy for you two. You deserve the best and Louis is definitely a great guy. And Louis deserves someone amazing like you as well." I smiled back and gave his leg a light squeeze. "Thanks, Harry. That really means a lot to me." We shared a moment and then he gave me a cheeky grin. "Of course my offer to marry you still stands, just in case you and Louis shouldn't work out." he offered and I stuck out my tongue at him. "I'll keep that in mind."

The rest of the drive we spent singing along to the radio and playing word games which Harry always seemed to win. When we arrived at my flat we were both a bit sad that the ride was over. It was mid-afternoon now and already getting a bit dark. Harry carried my bag up to Lily's and my flat. I unlocked the door and he dropped the bag in the hallway and then turned around to face me.

"I had a great time this weekend." he told me and I smiled up at him. "I had a very good time, as well." I admitted and his dimples appeared. He pulled me into a long hug and then let go of me and walked back outside into the hall. "Again thank you for doing this for me." I thanked again. "Like I said, it was a pleasure to be your wedding date, love. We'll probably see each other again sometime soon." he told me and I nodded. There was an awkward silence. Harry waved a bit and then turned around to walk back to his car. "Bye Harry!" I shouted behind him and he turned his head and smiled. "Goodbye, Claire." I grinned and closed the door behind him.

When I entered the kitchen I saw a piece of paper with Lily's handwriting on the kitchen table and I curiously leaned forward to read it.

"Hi bestie,  
Niall called me this morning and asked me if I was free for our date this afternoon. As if I will ever be ready for this, but never mind, and he picked me up around three. I have no clue what we'll be doing because he wanted it to stay a surprise, so I have no idea when I'll be back. I hope you had a fantastic weekend with Harry and your family (how is your dad doing btw?) and I can't wait to hear all about the wedding either when I'm back tonight or tomorrow.  
Love you loads,  
Lily xxx"

I smiled at her letter. I was happy for her that she was finally on a date with Niall and now I couldn't wait to see Louis again. I sent him a quick text telling him that I had arrived home safely and then unpacked my small bag. After about ten minutes my door bell rung. Curiously, I walked down the hallway and opened the door only to see a widely grinning Louis standing outside. I dropped the pair of socks I had been holding and jumped into his arms. He caught me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Hey, love." I pulled away a bit and grinned up at him. "Hi Lou." We smiled at each other and then he leaned in to kiss me and I kissed him back eagerly. I had only kissed him twice, but my body had been craving him since I had left him in the car park in Doncaster. A bit out of breath, we pulled away and he put me down again. "What are you doing here? How is Phoebe doing?" I asked him and he intertwined our fingers and, after closing the door behind him, pulled me into my living room. While he took off his shoes and got comfortable on the sofa with me he told me all about Phoebe and the time with his family while I was cuddled into his side.

"I'm glad she's already doing so much better." I told him and smiled up at him. "However I still have one more question." I said and Louis raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here right now?" I asked him and he blushed a bit. "I missed you. And when you sent that text I couldn't help myself and quickly jumped into the car to come over." he admitted. A wide smile spread across my face and I sat up a bit and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I missed you, too." I told him and he smiled down at me and gave me a short, but very sweet kiss.

We cuddled and talked for another two hours until my stomach growled loudly and Louis smirked down at me. "I think you need something to eat, love." I nodded and blushed a bit. "I think so, too." We made our way over to the kitchen and quickly decided to make ourselves some pasta. While Louis prepared the pasta, I cooked us a delicious tomato sauce. We then took our bowls back to the living room where we watched some TV and cuddled a bit more.

Around eight, I heard Lily's keys in the lock and a few seconds later she entered the flat. "Hi, whose car is that in front of our house? Is someone-" she interrupted herself and smirked at us. "Oh, hi, Louis. Good to see you." Louis grinned up at her. "Good to see you, too, Lily. Has Nialler left you already?" She blushed and shook her head. "No, you just blocked the only parking space in front of our flat so he's out there looking for another one." Louis shrugged. "My apologies." He didn't seem to be too sorry though and only pulled me a bit closer and continued watching TV.

Lily gave me a look which clearly said we'd talk about this later and then disappeared into her room where she and Niall disappeared to as soon as he had walked through the door. "Use protection!" Louis shouted from the living room and I giggled. "Kids these days." he said and shook his head. We turned the volume of the TV a bit up and spent the rest of the night watching TV with a few shared kisses, now and then.


	30. The Truth Or How I Ship Nilly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one, more to come :) S.

The next morning I woke up in my bed with a half-naked Louis next to me. He had decided to spend the night and because he hadn't been prepared he had only slept in his boxers and then had insisted that I would only wear a t-shirt and my panties as well. I watched him for a few minutes until he startled me by speaking up. "Stop staring at me, love. It's kind of creepy." he opened his eyes and I blushed. "You just look so beautiful and peaceful when you sleep." I told him and patted his cheek. He grinned. "Well, what can I say? I'm just too handsome to look away from me for too long." I rolled my eyes.

I sat up and tried to get out of bed, but Louis' arm wrapped themselves around my waist and held me in place. "Where do you think you're going, love?" he asked into my ear and I giggled. "Into the kitchen to get some breakfast?" I answered. "But it's so comfy here in bed with you." Louis whined. "Well maybe I can stay in here for a bit longer." I gave in and he pulled me back into a lying position and propped himself up on his elbows to look down at me.

He gently pushed a few loose strands of hair out of my face and lightly run his fingers over my face, studying me intensely. "You are so beautiful." he told me and I blushed deeply. Suddenly, Louis seemed to be way too close and I felt like the room was closing in on me. I pushed past Louis and quickly got up and pulled on my dressing gown. I was out of the room before Louis could even say something.

I fled into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water, trying to control the upcoming panic attack. A few seconds later, a concerned Louis appeared behind me and soothingly rubbed up and down my back. "Shhh, Claire. You're okay. It's just me, you are alright." Slowly, my breathing went back to normal and I turned around to face Louis.

"I am so sorry, I... I thought I had worked through this." Louis cupped my cheek with his one hand and gently took my hand in his other one. "Don't apologise, love. I don't know why you panicked, but you definitely don't need to apologise for it. I pulled him back with me into my bedroom and closed the door behind me. Hesitantly, I walked over to my bed and sat down, patting the spot next to me.

"Okay, I think I owe you an explanation. I'll try to keep it short." Louis nodded and squeezed my hand. "So, I got bullied in school, really badly over several years, and then in my last year in high school this amazing guy came along and he was the first guy who had ever really shown interest in me and I was a broken mess, so I gave him a chance. He told me he'd help me and I trusted him. Long story short, he cheated on me from day one of our relationship and then when I found out, he told me that he had only asked me out because of a bet and then proceeded to make fun of me in front of the whole school and made it look like I was the pathetic, ugly little girl who was running after him because he was such an amazing guy. It was awful and I had major trust issues for a while. So when someone tells me that I'm beautiful, I have a hard time believing it, you know?"

Louis pulled me into a hug and I sat on his lab for a few minutes while he just held me. "Claire, I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay? You are not ugly and pathetic. You are beautiful and kind and funny and any guy would be happy to have you. The people who bullied you in school were probably just jealous of you because you are such an amazing girl. And if I ever run into that guy, I will kill him." he said with a grim look on his face and I smiled. "Thanks Louis. Thank you for listening and thank you for still being here after you know my story."

Louis pulled away far enough to be able to face me properly. "Claire, no matter what you tell me will make me run the other way, okay? I'll try everything I can to make this relationship work and I won't let some bullies, or the media or the fans get in the way of that. I know that this relationship won't be easy, but what relationship is?" He smiled down at me and gently kissed my forehead. "Now, what about that breakfast you were talking about earlier?"

While we were eating breakfast, Niall and Lily emerged from her room and Lily blushed when she saw the two of us sitting at the kitchen table. Niall, on the other hand, grinned widely and fist-bumped Louis. "Long night?" Louis asked Niall with a smirk and he grinned. "A gentleman never tells, Louis." he said and gave Lily a peck on the cheek. "And what about you?" Niall asked Louis who looked over to me and smirked. "Claire makes a good cuddle buddy." he replied and winked at me. I rolled my eyes and helped Lily make some tea for the two of them.

"So how was your date?" I asked her quietly and her whole face lit up. "He took me to a cute little café and we talked forever and then we got some food at Nandos and drove to a park and went for a walk while eating our food and then we came here and, well, um, you know..." she blushed and I grinned at her. "That sounds amazing, I'm so happy for you. I ship 'Nilly'." She grinned back. "Thanks, me, too. I don't even deserve such an amazing guy, seriously." She looked over to Niall who caught her looking at her and winked, which made her blush a bit.

"Soooo, what happened with you and Louis?" she asked me and wiggled her eyebrows. "Not what you are thinking." I told her. "He surprised me yesterday after Harry had dropped me off and then he spent the night, but we only cuddled. And made out for a bit." I added with a smirk and Lily giggled. "He knows about Sam." I told her in a hushed voice and her eyes widened. "Did you tell him?" I nodded. "I had a panic attack earlier and I had to tell him. He deserves to know." Lily pulled me into a quick hug.

"You know that Louis would never do that to you, right?" she asked me and I nodded against her shoulder. We finished the tea and then sat back down next to our two boys. "Soooo, do you have any exciting plans for today?" Lily asked me and I looked over to the clock and pulled a face. "I have to be at the uni by 1pm." Louis pouted. "What about you, love?" Niall asked her and Lily grinned. "I have the day off because I worked at the hospital for my internship on Saturday." Niall grinned back and exchanged a look with her. "That's what I love hearing." I patted Louis' leg. "We'll find some time this week, alright?" He nodded and tickled me a bit which made me squeak. "I'll make sure of that." he promised me and grinned.


	31. Made In The AM or How We Got Invited To An Album Release Party

The next few days I was incredibly busy, so I only texted Louis a couple of times a day and occasionally Harry. Niall was over at our flat one more time and he and Lily seemed to be doing well, at least that's what I assumed after walking into them making out in the kitchen. Let's just say that I was traumatized for life. Suddenly it was Friday morning, the day of the album release. It took everything in me not to listen to the new songs as soon as I had gotten out of bed, but Lily and I had made a deal. Neither one of us would listen to the album alone until we would be home in the early afternoon to listen to it together.

I ignored my twitter and tumblr all day and pretty much ran to the Tube and then from the Tube back home. Lily and I nearly collided at the flat door and laughed. "I'm so excited!" said Lily next to me and bounced up and down while I opened our front door. We both dropped our bags and dashed to the living room. She turned on my computer and we sat there in awe as she clicked on Spotify. 

"Are we really ready for this?" I asked and exchanged an excited look with Lily. "I will never be ready for this." she replied and pulled a face. We giggled and I clicked onto the first song 'Hey Angel'. I grabbed Lily's hand as Harry's voice sounded through the living room. "Shit, this is good." I said into the silence that followed the song. We used the next three songs to relax a little bit, although 'Infinity' still hit me every time I listened to it. After we had finished 'Perfect' Lily hesitantly clicked on 'End of The Day'. The song was amazing and I died a little bit inside when I listened to Louis's solo. I wasn't sure if I was gonna survive the whole album and we weren't even half way through. 

'If I Could Fly' left me a sobbing mess. "Who wrote this? Who fucking wrote this??" I asked and angrily starred at my laptop. Lily googled the song and then giggled. "Harry wrote it." I huffed angrily. "I hate him. He can't just write such a beautiful song just like that and then get the others to sing it so beautifully! Niall's high note during the last chorus, holy shit. And Louis' verse! Liam is always bloody perfect, of course. And Harry going up with his voice at one part. Goood, I hate them. They know exactly how to emotionally destroy millions of fans around the world." By this point Lily was laughing at me and I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted.  
"Just play the next one." I told her and she happily clicked onto the next song.  
I think it was safe to say that 'Long Way Down' didn't really help to cheer me up. We both sat there in silence for a few seconds after the song had ended. "This album is definitely a lot more serious than the last ones." I said and Lily only nodded. Then 'Never Enough' started and we exchanged surprised looks. "This kind sounds like the song they sing in Finding Nemo when they make Nemo swim through this bubbly thing in the aquarium." I laughed and Lily burst out laughing. "You are right, it does sound a bit like that! What a weird, but amazing song!" we kept giggling throughout the whole song and couldn't really take it too serious.

'Olivia' and 'What a Feeling' were to other brilliant songs. "It gives you such a chilled and relaxed vibe." Lily said after 'What a Feeling' was over. 'Love You Goodbye' made me a bit sad and I really wanted to know who wrote the song so I quickly looked it up, only to find out that Louis had written it. "Do you think it's about Eleanor?" I asked Lily and she shrugged. "Probably. I mean, as far as we know, he only dated one girl during the last few years, but I wouldn't worry about her."

'I Want To Write You A Song' made me want to cuddle Louis immediately. His angelic voice fit the chorus perfectly and I instantly fell in love with the song. The two of us clapped and danced along to 'History'. "I love this!" Lily said loudly over the music and I grinned in response. When 'Temporary Fix' started Lily suddenly went really quiet. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit." she kept repeating and clung onto my arm. "Niall definitely wants to kill me." I giggled, but immediately stopped when Harry's verse started. "Why are they doing this to us?!" I groaned and put my head into my hands. "We can moan in the darkness, let me touch you where your heart is!" sang Louis and I slumped back into the sofa cushions. "This song makes me feel stuff." I admitted in a low voice and Lily laughed, but agreed with me.

I immediately fell in love with 'Walking in the Wind'. The way the song was written reminded me of Paul Simon and the bridge hit me right in the heart. Lily and I danced through the living room to 'Wolves' and were really happy that no one was able to see us. We tried the weird dance that Monica and Ross did in that one friends episode and it surprisingly fit the song very well. Laughing, we sat back down onto the sofa and tried to catch our breath.

"Are we ready for the last song?" I asked and my finger hovered over the play button. "Nope, but let's get this over with. I gotta call Niall." I clicked play and immediately liked the song. It fitted the whole album and we sat there silently and listened in awe. "What a beautiful way to end the album." Lily said and I only nodded. "The whole album is so incredibly beautiful." I broke the silence after a couple of seconds. "How are they all so bloody talented?" I wondered out loud and Lily shrugged. "I've been asking myself the same question for years. Now I just really, really want to hear the whole album live, but I guess we'll have to wait for a bit until they're back from their break."

She got up and grabbed her phone from the coffee table. "I'm calling Niall." She told me and grinned. "We have to have a bit of a talk." She disappeared into her bedroom and I picked up my phone and dialled Louis' number, hoping that he wasn't too busy. He picked up after a couple of seconds. "Hi, love." A wide grin spread across my face. "Hi, Lou." I mocked his tone and he laughed. "Have you finally listened to the new album?" he asked me curiously. "I did and I love it! Definitely your best one yet. So many fantastic songs!" I told him excitedly and he laughed again. "I'm glad you like it." he said and sounded relived.

"Are you sad that you won't be touring this album, at least not for a while?" I asked him and walked over to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. "Yeah, definitely. However, we will perform some songs during the promo we will be doing until next month so you'll definitely get the chance to listen to some of the new songs live." Louis told me and I smiled happily. "That sounds great. I can't wait!" I said excitedly and Louis chuckled. "And there is Claire the fangirl again." he teased me and I rolled my eyes. Unfortunately, he couldn't see that, but it felt good to do it anyway. "Oh shut up, Tomlinson." "You know I'm just teasing you, right?" Louis asked me through the phone. "I secretly love your fangirl side." he admitted and I grinned. "Well, I can assure you that it probably won't go away any time soon." I told him. There was a short pause.

"Are you doing okay, you know, after Monday?" he asked hesitantly and I knew he was referring to my panic attack incident I had a couple of days ago. I cleared my throat. "I'm fine, Louis. I didn't even know that I still get these panic attacks that badly. I used to get them a lot a couple of years ago, but they've gotten much less and less frequently." I assured him and poured the hot water into the mug.

"I'm glad to hear that, love. And if something like this should happen again, please don't hesitate to call me and I'll talk you through it or come over whenever I can. Or Harry or one of the other boys." I smiled. "Thanks, Lou. That means a lot to me." We continued to chat for a bit longer, until he was called to do another interview. "I gotta go, love, but I'll try to pop in this weekend, if I can. Oh, and we're having an album release party tonight, so if you're free, feel happy to pop by. It's at Liam's place because it's the biggest out of the four of us."

My stomach flipped. I just got invited to an album release party. Holy shit. My inner fangirl was screaming with excitement. "Claire?" Louis asked and I jumped. "Sorry, I, um, got carried away. I'll definitely be there and I'll drag Lily along with me. You have fun at your interview!" I said and he thanked me and hung up. "Holy shit." I said out loudly and Lily giggled behind me.

I turned around to face her. "Louis just invited me to their album release party at Liam's tonight." I told her excitedly and she grinned. "Niall just invited me, as well." We looked at each other for a couple of seconds and then started squealing and jumped up and down until someone knocked on the ceiling in the flat underneath us. "Oh my God, Claire. We are so lucky!" "And so mature." I added with a laugh. We hugged each other and then turned Made In The Am back on and discussed the album again until it was time to get ready for the party.


	32. Time Of Our Lives or How Ed Sheeran Remembered Me

When Lily and I arrived at Liam's place the party had already started and we recognised a few familiar faces, some of them made us squeak quietly. "Oh my God, is that Cara Delevingne?" squeaked Lily next to me and subtly looked over to her right. It was in fact Cara, who was standing there, talking to Harry who noticed us a moment later. We both blushed after being caught starring at them and Harry grinned and waved us over.

We hesitantly walked over to where they were standing and Harry pulled first me and then Lily into a hug, mine lasting a bit longer than Lily's. "Hi you two." he greeted us with a wide smile. He was obviously not completely sober anymore, but Harry was hilarious when he was drunk, so I didn't really mind. "Ladies, this is Cara, Cara these are Lily and Claire." he introduced us and Cara waved. "Hi, I've heard loads about you two. Especially you Claire. This one here wouldn't shut up about you." She nodded her head towards Harry who blushed a bit and glared at Cara who smirked. "Only good stuff, I hope." I replied and looked over to Lily. However, she had just spotted Niall and quite literally vanished into thin air. I sighed and turned my focus back to Harry and Cara.

"Without wanting to be incredibly rude, it was Louis who asked me to come and I kind of have to at least say hello. But we definitely have to chat for a bit later on." I added with a grin and Cara grinned back, while Harry pouted. "Louis should be somewhere in the back of the garden." she told me and gave me a one-armed hug. I smiled and thanked her and then made my way through the party guests towards the garden.

I saw some familiar faces and greeted and hugged some people on the way. Gemma seemed to be happy to see me and I also spotted Lottie who happily waved at me from across the room and shouted something about talking to me later. I let my eyes wander over the crowd of people who were standing in the freezing cold and pulled my jacket tighter around me. In the back was some sort of bonfire and I spotted Louis standing there with some people, most of whom I didn't really know.

I creeped up on him and then jumped him from behind, which made him spill his beer a bit. He turned his head and a grin spread across his face. "Jesus, Claire. You scared me!" I giggled and let go of him. Louis pulled me into him and gave me a chased kiss on the cheek. "When did you arrive?" I shrugged. "I don't know like ten minutes ago? It took me a while to find you and I surprisingly actually seem to know some people here." He chuckled and then turned back to face the rest of the group who were standing around the bonfire.

"For everyone who doesn't know her, this is Claire. Claire, this is everyone." I waved shyly. "Hi." I let my eyes wander over the group and I had to fight a squeak which was threatening to leave my mouth. Ed Sheeran was grinning at me from the other side of the fire and waved a bit. "Hi Claire." He remembered my name! Ed Sheeran remembered my name! I was screaming on the inside and tightened my grip on Louis' hand. He looked down at me with an amused grin, apparently finding my fangirl attack very funny to watch.

"Hi Ed!" I squeaked back and Ed chuckled. He walked around the fire to where Louis and I were standing. "How are you doing, Claire? It's been a while since I've seen you. Louis, here, wouldn't shut up about you." He smirked and Louis rolled his eyes, but didn't deny it. "Did he now?" I asked and grinned up at Louis. "I'm doing well, thanks. A bit busy with uni at the moment, but when aren't I?" I pulled a face and Ed laughed. "Sometimes I'm very happy to only have to write music and not long essays." Louis nodded next to me. "Same, mate. I don't think I would have been able to do three years of university after finishing school."

We chatted for a bit longer, until I was so cold that not even Louis, who I was leaning against, could warm me up any longer. My teeth were shattering and Louis looked down at me with a concerned look on his face. "I think we should get you inside, love." I only nodded and said goodbye to Ed. Louis intertwined our fingers and pulled me into the huge living room which was full of people. We made our way towards the kitchen where we got ourselves some drinks. On our way back to the living room, I saw Niall and Lily making out in a corner and I threw a napkin at them, before quickly hiding behind Louis who chuckled.

I spotted Cara and Harry dancing on the dance floor, throwing some weird shapes, and nearly died from laughter, until Harry spotted us. His eyes lit up and he came over to where we were standing. "Claire, my best friend, dance with me?" He did his best puppy eyes and Louis and I laughed a bit. "I don't think you can say no to that, Claire." Louis said next to me and let go off my hand. "You two have some fun and I'll go and find my sister and that guy she just disappeared with." He pressed a kiss to my temple and disappeared into the crowd, leaving me with a very drunk Harry.

I downed the remains of my drink and then let myself being pulled onto the dance floor. A fast song was playing and I danced with Cara and Harry, who pulled me into their middle. It was a lot of fun and when the alcohol finally kicked in, I was dancing just as crazy as the other two. 'The Time of My Life' came on and we cheered. Harry insisted on doing the dirty dancing dance moves with me, and even though we were hopelessly drunk and clumsy, we quite literally had the time of our lives.

Harry spun me around and I was starting to feel a bit dizzy. Whatever had been in my drink must have been strong. When the song had ended, I clung onto Harry and we just looked at each other giggling like little kids, until the room stopped spinning again. "You are so much fun. I really like you, Claire." he told me and I grinned. "I really like you, too, Harry." I told him and his eyes lit up. "Come on, bestie, we need to find Cara again." he took my hand in his and dragged me along with him past a very amused Gemma who threw me a questioning glance, but I just grinned and she rolled her eyes and went back to talking to some friends of hers.

In front of the bathroom we run into Louis who just looked at us and instantly knew that we were both very drunk. I had had a second drink somewhere on the search for Cara and clung onto Harry's hand to keep myself up. "You two, come with me. We need to get some water into your system."

We both protested but he just took my other hand and dragged me and Harry towards the kitchen where he handed both of us a glass of water. "But water tastes so booooring." I whined and Harry nodded next to me. "Just drink it, Claire. Goood, I really can't let you and Harry alone for a few minutes without you two doing something stupid, like getting completely trashed." With a lot of moaning from me and Harry we finally drank our water and then Louis hastily pulled us into the living room away from the drinks again.

Harry had spotted Niall and threw an arm around his shoulder. "Nialler, my bestie!" I pouted. "I thought I was your best friend." Harry grinned down at me and then told me in a very loud whisper "You are, but Niall mustn't find out!" I nodded happily and Louis only shook his head. In that moment someone with a big tray of cookies walked past us and my face lit up. "Cookies! Louis, look!" Louis groaned and looked around for help. "I think I need another drink, a very strong one." He looked at me and Harry and then over to Niall. "You two, stay here, okay? Just stay here with Niall and I'll be back in a minute, understood?" We nodded and giggled and after another warning glance in our direction, Louis disappeared towards the kitchen.

Louis came back faster than we had expected him to, so we hadn't really done anything dangerous apart from stealing some cookies, which tastes fantastic. Harry and Niall were having a really serious conversation about whether more people used green or orange toothbrushes, while Lily, who had returned from the toilet, stood next to them giggling. I was munching on a cookie and listened intently to their discussion.

"Nobody wants to have an orange toothbrush, Niall." Harry said to him in a tone that showed how absurd he found this idea. "Green is obviously the more reasonable choice here." Louis quickly downed his drink at these words and then bowed in front of me. "Would you like to dance, Miss Winters?" I giggled and let go of Harry's hand that I still seemed to be holding and took Louis' hand. Harry pouted a bit, but then turned his full concentration back on Niall and the toothbrush problem.

Louis pulled me onto the dance floor, and even in my drunk state I could feel that he was definitely more drunk now, than he was twenty minutes ago. He pulled me closer to him and I wasn't sure if you could tell where he ended and I started, but I wasn't complaining. I run my fingers through his hair and one of his hands wandered down my back towards my bum.

"Have I told you how sexy you look in these jeans?" he asked me in a low voice, his lips very close to my ear. I shook my head and he pulled away a bit and send me a cheeky grin. "Well, let me tell you, Claire, that the combination of these jeans and that top should not be allowed, or at least not on you." I grinned and blushed a bit, but my boundaries were always pretty much non-existent when I was drunk so I sent him a cheeky wink and leaned forward to whisper something into his ear. "You also look exceptionally fine tonight, Mr Tomlinson." Louis grinned in response and we continued dancing, or whatever you would call it at that point, for another few minutes until Louis suddenly pulled away and then pulled me through the crowd up the stairs, into what looked like a guest room.

He shut the door behind us with his foot and as soon as he heard the lock click, his lips were on mine. Kissing Louis Tomlinson in a guestroom in Liam Payne's house was something I had never expected myself to do, but it was something I didn't want to miss for anything in the world. His hands were roaming my body, while mine were tangled in his hair. Somehow we ended up on the bed and I was now sitting on Louis lap, while he supported my weight with one hand, the other was tangled in my hair.

Suddenly, the door was opened and we both jumped apart. Harry, Niall and Lily were standing in the doorway, obviously surprised to find us making out in a guest room. There was an awkward silence and all of us seemed to sober up very quickly. Harry cleared his throat. "We, um, we will look for toothbrushes somewhere else." Well, maybe we were still a little bit drunk. Lily sent me a stern look, which I didn't understand, and Niall only wiggled his eyebrows and made a very obvious gesture before he closed the door behind them.

I turned my head back to face Louis who was grinning down at me. He gently brushed his thumb over my cheek and then smirked, a twinkle in his eyes. "Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted by the toothbrush search-group?" I giggled and squirmed a bit in his lab, which made his eyes turn a shade darker in his response. "I don't know, you tell me." He grinned and then whispered in a low voice into my ear "How about I show you?" He kissed his way down my neck towards my collar bone and I shuddered.

In that moment, the door opened again, and Louis swore under his breath. This time, I would have preferred to see Harry or Niall or Lily standing in the door way, because at least they were too drunk to do much about it and probably wouldn't remember it by tomorrow morning anyway, or so I hoped. Instead, Lottie was standing in the door way and she didn't look very drunk. She was wearing a smirk which told us that we were in trouble.

"So you tell me that I can't make out with a guy at a party, but you can fuck Claire upstairs in a bedroom, hm?" She had put her hands on her hips and looked angry, but at the same time smug to have caught us. Louis gently pushed me off his lab and I quickly pulled my top down again. "That's not the fucking point, Lottie. You are seventeen and that guy was like twenty-five, or what? And I wasn't 'fucking Claire in a bedroom upstairs' we were merely making out for a bit. Claire deserves better than that." He gave my hand a light squeeze which I returned. "That's still unfair. Why are you allowed to take Claire upstairs when a guy can't even look at me?" Louis sighed. "You know that he was doing a lot more than just looking at you, Lottie. Find a guy your age and we'll talk again. And not some idiot like the guy downstairs, but a guy who treats you with respect."

Lottie rolled her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Never mind. I'm sorry I interrupted you, Claire." I sent her a small smile. "No problem, Lottie. And if you want to talk about boys without this one here listening, you can give me a ring any time." I winked at her and she grinned and sent Louis a smug look. He glared at both of us and then sighed. "I'm sorry, love, but I should probably take Lottie home." Lottie protested loudly and looked over to me for help. "She hasn't done anything bad, Louis. She knows that you are just looking out for her. Just let her stay for a bit longer." Louis thought for a few seconds and then shook his head. "I promised mum, I'd bring her home before two am." I check the clock on the wall which showed 1.30am. Lottie sighed in defeat. "Okay, Mr Big Brother, then say goodbye to your girl and come on." Lottie waved at me and then left the room to wait for Louis downstairs who turned to face me. "I'm sorry about how this turned out. I didn't realise that it was already so late and I sure as hell didn't plan on being interrupted. Twice." I smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Lou. Family is important and I love how you take care of your siblings, even if they sometimes don't appreciate it." I told him, referring to Lottie. He smiled and cupped my face with one hand, the other one resting on my thigh. "Thank you for always being so amazingly understanding, love." He got up and tried to fix his messy hair which was kind of hopeless. "I should probably go now. I'll have to call us a taxi because as much as Lottie sobered me up, I'm sure as hell not even close enough to being able to drive a car." I giggled and stood up as well. "I'm completely sober." I assured him and suddenly had to hold onto Louis' arm because the room had started spinning again.

"Sure you are." he smirked and helped to stabilize me. "Would you like a ride home, as well? I'm not sure if I'll return once I've dropped her off. It's been a long day." I shook my head. "No thank you, I think I'm okay. I promised Cara a chat and even if Lily goes home with Niall, I am not sure if Harry will make it home on his own." Something changed in Louis' eyes, but he caught himself quickly and smirked, obviously thinking about the toothbrush discussion. "You are probably right, love. Let's go downstairs and find Lottie and Harry."

He took my hand in his and guided me downstairs through the surprisingly still big crowd. Most of the parents seemed to have left, but there was still a lot of people downstairs partying like there was no tomorrow. I accompanied Louis towards the front door where Lottie was waiting for him and after a quick goodbye kiss for Louis and a hug for Lottie they were gone. Before he left, however, Louis whispered something into my ear. "We will finish what we started earlier some other time, love." which made me blush deeply, before I started to search the crowd for a familiar face.

I found Harry after a few minutes of aimlessly wandering through Liam's house, which was very pretty and elegant. I would have moved in without thinking if I had that much money. Harry's whole face light up when he saw me and it was obvious that he was still very drunk. He pulled me into his side and turned around to face Ed Sheeran who he had been talking to. I waved a bit. "Hi Ed, long time no seen." He grinned and nodded with his head over to Harry.

"Claire, my saviour! Harry has been trying to convince me for the past twenty minutes that people prefer green toothbrushes over orange ones and as much as this is an interesting topic, I think I'll cry if I ever hear the word toothbrush ever again." He was obviously also not completely sober anymore either and winked at me. The alcohol definitely helped me relax, otherwise I probably would have squeaked or done something embarrassing. "Harry you can't keep talking about toothbrushes, honey. We'll have to find you something else to keep you entertained, alright?" I told him and he nodded with big eyes and I couldn't help but laugh. He wrinkled his forehead and tried to figure out why I was laughing.

Ed clapped Harry on the shoulder. "I think you are in good hands, now. I'll see you around, mate." Harry only nodded and Ed disappeared into the crowd again. It only took him a couple of seconds, before he returned to his happy-drunk state. "Let's have some fun, Claire! Dancing! Singing!" I laughed again and squeezed his hand. "Maybe we should get you home, Harry?" Harry's eyes widened. "Home?" I nodded and giggled, the alcohol showing its affect. "Where you live, silly." He nodded, seemingly understanding me. "Alright, let's go home then." I sighed in relief. That had gone better than I had expected it to go. I didn't think that I would have been able to convince Harry of anything being drunk myself, but he was surprisingly willing to do whatever I was suggesting.

I tugged Harry over to the door where we both found our jackets. He helped me into mine and then held onto my hand to keep himself from falling. I quickly called us a taxi and then pulled us outside, so that we could maybe sober up a bit in the cold. Harry was looking up at the stars while we were waiting, completely fascinated by them. "There are so many stars up there." he told me and I nodded. "So, so many, Claire. And they are so pretty, just like you." I blushed and giggled a bit. "I am serious, you know? You are very, very pretty, Claire." Harry told me and I blushed even more. "Thanks, Harry. You are very pretty as well." He smiled widely at me and then continued to look up to the sky until our taxi arrived.

We were quiet for most of the ride and I let the taxi wait for me while I helped Harry towards his front door. I unlocked the door for him because he was struggling with his keys. We both giggled like little kids and he stepped into his house and turned around. He smiled down at me and then gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good night, Claire." I smiled up at him. "Good night, Harry." I quickly turned around before my drunk self could do something I would regret the next morning. When the taxi drove away, I saw Harry standing in his door, looking after me and gave him a small wave, which he returned. As soon as I arrived home, I quickly got ready for bed, downed another glass of water and then fell asleep as soon as my head had hit the pillow.


	33. Friendships Or How Ed Sheeran Texted Me

The next morning I woke up with a massive headache. I pulled the duvet over my head and listened for any indication that Lily was up, although I wasn't even sure if she had come home last night or just slept over at Niall's. I didn't hear anything and after another ten minutes in bed, I finally got up and walked over to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea and some toast. I took some painkillers for my killer headache and then slowly sipped on my tea while I scrolled through my tumblr.

After another half an' hour or so I was a bit more awake and my headache was a little bit less, when the slamming of the front door indicated Lily's arrival. I grinned at her when I saw that she was wearing a combination of what looked like Niall's t-shirt and jacket and her skinny jeans and heels from last night. "Morning." I waved at her and she waved back and slumped into the chair opposite me. "Morning. Although I'm not sure if 11.30 still counts as morning." I shrugged. "Probably not. How was your night? Did you have a good time at Niall's?" I wiggled my eyebrows and she blushed a bit and grinned widely. "A lady never kisses and tells, Claire." I snorted into my tea. I was pretty sure that they had done a lot more than just kiss, but I bit my lip and Lily gave me a look and continued. " But yes, it was good. You seemed to have a great time last night, as well." she said and there was an undertone in her voice that I couldn't quite figure out.

"I did. Why are you saying it like that?" I asked her with a frown and looked over to her. Lily thought for a bit. "I don't know how to say this and please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you think you are stringing both Harry and Louis along?" I was confused. "What do you mean? Harry and I are just friends and Louis and I, well you walked in on us last night..." I blushed a bit. "He wants to take me out on a date as soon as they are back from the States in two weeks or so." I smiled widely, but Lily still didn't seem too happy.

"Does Harry know that? That you are just friends and that you're going on a date with Louis?" I nodded. "Yes, I told him about Lou and he said that we are great together. Why does everyone keep asking me about Harry? We are good friends, that's it." My voice has gotten a bit louder while I defended myself. Lily sighed. "Look, I don't want to upset you or accuse you of anything. If you are saying that you two are just friends I believe you. I'm just not sure if maybe Harry likes you a bit more than just as a friend and I am not a 100% sure if you have just friendly feelings for him either." Without knowing it, Lily had just said something that I had been trying to ignore for the past few weeks.

"Look, I like Louis. A lot. He is an amazing guy and he is everything I am looking for in a guy. He is kind, he is sweet, he is understanding, funny, he can keep up with my sass and he is a great friend to me. I don't even think that I deserve him, but somehow he likes me and I am super grateful to have such a great guy interested in me. But I can imagine us together, you know? It doesn't seem too unrealistic. He makes me feel like home, I can be comfortable around him." I smiled a bit and saw that Lily was smiling as well. "And Harry?"

I thought for a bit. "Harry is, well, he's Harry. He has a big heart and just cares too much about everyone most of the time. He is funny, if you ignore some of his bad knock-knock jokes, and he has this amazing ability to just listen to you. When he listens to you, he makes you feel like nothing is more important in that moment and he is super supportive, no matter what, maybe even more so than Louis. I'm not sure if he even likes me. I mean, I'm just me and he is this amazing, sparkly unicorn, you know?" I referred to our conversation that we had a few weeks ago and chuckled. "Even if Louis and I shouldn't work out for some reason, Harry Styles is probably the last guy who I would see myself date. It just doesn't fit."

Lily shook her head at me. "For someone so intelligent, you are sometimes really stupid Claire. You and Louis are great together, I won't even try to say anything else because then I would be lying. You two complete each other and I think you make a beautiful couple. However, I also think that Harry makes an amazing friend, but he is a friend who likes you very much and he is someone you like very much as well. And if the only reason why you would never even consider dating Harry is the fact that you believe that you are not good enough for him, then I can't really help you, Claire."

I put my head in my hands. "I don't know what to do Lily, I really don't. They're best friends and I don't want to hurt either of them. I don't think that Harry and I would work out, like ever, and I don't want to lose him as a friend because he is one of the best friends I've ever had. No one comes even close to you, of course." I added and she playfully flicked her hair over her shoulder. "I'll just have to see what happens, I guess. I'll go on that date with Louis and I'll continue being friends with Harry. I haven't even known them for that long." I send her a helpless look and she walked around the table and pulled me into a hug.

"Hey, I didn't want to stress you or force you to make a decision right now. I just wanted to make you aware of the fact that you seem to have two amazing guys interested in you and let you know I will support you no matter what. I just want what's best for you and if that's Louis then I will obviously support you, but if it turns out that you and Louis are better off just being good friends and that you should maybe give Harry a chance, I'm fine with that, too, and I will sure as hell support you as well. Just listen to your heart, okay?"

I nodded and hugged her tighter. "I don't even know what I'd do without you, Lil." She let go of me and grinned. "I know, I'm amazing." We both laughed and then she clapped her hands. "Now get dressed, we are going shopping today." I groaned and she laughed. "I don't know why you hate shopping so much. You know that it'll be fun." I pulled a face. "I don't HATE shopping, I just think there are better ways to spend my Saturday." She grinned at me. "Non-sense, Claire, shopping is fun. Now go and get ready!" She shooed me out of the kitchen and I gave in and walked back to my room to get ready.

I quickly checked my phone before I hopped into the shower and saw that I had received three new messages. I opened them and clicked on the first one which was from Louis. "Really enjoyed having you there last night. We will have to continue where we left off somewhere where we can't be interrupted very soon. Can I see you one more time before we are off to the States on Monday? xxx" I smiled at his messages and quickly tipped a reply. "Lily is making me go shopping today (send help!) but I'm free tomorrow if you like or tonight. And I don't know what you're talking about, Tomlinson. ;) xxx" I chuckled at my own cleverness and then opened the next message which was from Harry.

"Thank you for making sure that I got home safely. I don't remember everything I said and did last night, but if some of the parts that I remember are true, I'd like to apologise for the toothbrush incident and to compliment you on your dancing skills. I hope to see you again soon. H xxx" I smiled widely and replied with a smirk on my face. "You are hilarious and kind of adorable when you're drunk. We should get drunk together more often, but only if you never talk about toothbrushes ever again. And you are quite the dancer yourself, Styles. ;) We'll definitely have to hang out some time soon! C xxx"

After I had hit send, I opened the last message which was from an unknown number. "Hi Claire, this is Ed." I let out a squeal and had to calm myself down a bit, before I could continue reading his message. "Louis gave me your number last night. Thank you for saving me from Harry, he is a good chap, but crazy when he's drunk. We should hang out some time soon, maybe another movie night with some other people at my place? Hope you're not too hungover. Ed x"

I had to sit down on my bed. Ed Sheeran had gotten my number. He had texted me and he had asked me to hang out with him at his house. I had to be dreaming. Still not completely believing what had just happened, I quickly replied that I'd be more than happy to hang out at his house sometime soon and that my hangover wasn't too bad after some painkillers and wished him a relaxed weekend. Humming 'Little Things' I made my way into the bathroom and took a relaxing shower, bracing myself for my shopping experience. 

*************

Lily had been dragging me from shop to shop for an hour already and I was more than exhausted. Louis hadn't replied to my send help text and Harry and Ed hadn't replied either. We were approaching Victoria's Secret, well Lily was. She was literally dragging me behind her. "There is no way that I will go in there, Lily." She only chuckled and entered the shop, her hand firmly clasping mine, making it impossible for me to escape. "What am I even doing in here?" I asked her and she grinned widely at me. "Shopping for the lads, of course! Oh, and give me some advice on something for Niall."

I could feel my cheeks heating up and she giggled. "Oh come on, Claire. You will want to feel amazing when you're doing it, right?" I only nodded. I was probably the only twenty-two year old who had never had sex, but I had never trusted Sam enough to go that far, good decision as it turned out, and I hadn't had a boyfriend ever since. I had never trusted anyone enough to go all the way, which didn't mean that I had no experience at all. But having my first time with a one-night stand didn't really appeal to me. Call me old-fashioned, but I wanted to feel completely comfortable with a guy before I hopped into bed with him and I hand't found that guy yet.

I hesitantly walked through the store, following Lily who was walking around, feeling the different fabrics and looking at different styles. She held up a black lace bra with matching panties. "What do you think about this? It's very elegant and not too revealing. I think you would like it." I looked at what she was holding up and decided that it could be worse. It actually looked kind of pretty, so I decided to give it a shot. "Alright, I'll try it on." I gave in and Lily squealed and hugged me. "This is only the beginning, just wait for it, Claire." I pulled a face and a shop assistant threw me a weird look. "We are fine, thank you." I quickly assured her and she smiled and walked over to a young lady.

Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped themselves around me from behind and I squeaked. Behind me Louis chuckled. "Boo!" he whispered into my ear. Lily had turned around and her eyes widened in surprise, but she had an amused look on her face. "Hi, Louis. Hi, Harry." I turned around and was faced with two widely grinning boys who looked very pleased to find us in this particular store. "How the hell did you find us?" I asked them and they exchanged a knowing look. "You asked for help and here we are. We never reveal our secrets, love." Louis explained and next to him Harry nodded. 

"Do I even want to know how you found me?" I asked them, but they just grinned innocently at me. "Probably not." Harry said with a smirk and I blushed a bit. Louis rubbed his hands. "Now, Claire, how can we assist you with your shopping today?" He let his eyes wander around the store and then settled on the underwear I was holding in my hand. "Oh, good choice." I blushed madly and Harry who seemed to notice that I was feeling uncomfortable said "Leave her alone, Lou. Maybe we could grab a bite to eat or something like that while the girls finish their shopping and then meet them in the coffee shop around the corner or so?"

I shot him a thankful look and he smiled down at me. "Alright." Louis gave in. He leaned in as if he wanted to give me a kiss, but after a quick look around the store decided against it and just gave us a small wave. "We'll see you in a bit then." Lily and I nodded and as soon as they had left the shop she started laughing. "They really couldn't have found you in a better shop." She couldn't even stand properly because she was laughing so hard. "Hilarious." I said in a dry tone, but couldn't help but giggle a bit as well.

"Shit, that was so embarrassing. How did they even find me?" I wondered out loud. Lily shrugged. "No idea. But we better use the short time we're given before they come back in. I can already see the headlines. 'One Directions stars seen buying underwear in Victoria's Secret'." I smirked at the thought. Lily grabbed a couple of things and we quickly made our way to the changing rooms.

The bra and the panties fit perfectly and I felt a lot more confident and sexy wearing them. I tried to ignore the price tag and quickly changed back into my own clothes. Lily asked for my opinion and I poked my head into her changing room. She was wearing a beautiful dark purple lace bra with matching panties and looked absolutely amazing, as always. "You look amazing, Lil. Definitely buy this one." I told her and she did a little spin. "You sure? Do you think Niall would like it?" She wiggled her eyebrows and I laughed. "If he doesn't like it, you can drop him and look for someone else. Seriously, he would have to be blind not to like it."

We payed for our stuff and then walked down the street towards the coffee shop where we wanted to meet the boys. I texted Harry and told him we'd be there in a minute and he replied within a few seconds telling me that they were already there, hiding in a back corner. When we entered the coffee shop, I let my eyes wander over the people and finally found Louis and Harry at the very back in a small booth. I waved a bit and then ordered a chai latte for me and a cappuccino for Lily and some muffins.

"Did you buy some nice things?" Louis teased me as soon as I had squeezed myself into the small booth between him and Harry. I rolled my eyes and took a sip from my tea. "I did, thanks for asking. That doesn't mean that you'll get to see it any time soon though." I smirked at him and he pouted while Harry and Lily laughed at him. "Burn." Lily said and nudged Louis. "We'll see about that, love." He winked at me and blushed a bit. I offered the others a bit from my muffins which they happily took advantage of. 

"So how was your day so far?" I asked the boys and they grinned widely. We had the London Secret Session this morning which was amazing. Fantastic atmosphere and so many lovely fans." Harry told us excitedly. On my other side, Louis nodded. "It was a great experience, for sure. Especially since we performed some new songs from the new album." Lily and I exchanged excited looks. "That sounds great, guys, I can't wait to hear some of the songs live, or at least watch a video of you guys performing them." Harry chuckled. "We'll make sure to get you to at least one last live performance before the break, love." We chatted for another hour or so without being spotted before we all walked back outside onto the streets and towards where Harry had parked his car.

We all piled into the car, Louis and Harry at the front and me and Lily at the back and listened to some music. Louis still tried to get some information on what I had bought from me and Lily but we stayed silent. "Would you like to come over for a movie or so?" Harry asked from the driver's seat and looked at me through the rear mirror. "Sure, why not? Could I ring Niall?" Lily replied for the both of us and Harry nodded. "Absolutely. The more the merrier." Louis grinned. "Maybe we'll even get a special show from you in your new stuff." Harry chuckled and Lily and I exchanged a look. "Shut up, Louis." we said in unison and Louis held up his hands. "Just a suggestion, ladies, just a suggestion. I'm sure we'll find something that's okay with everyone." He smirked at us and squeezed my knee with his left hand. "I think I have some good alcohol left." Harry commented and Louis grinned. "That's what I was talking about. Let's get this party started!"


	34. Food and Friendships Or How Harry Should Smile More

Niall arrived only a few minutes after we did and shared a very long kiss with Lily, while we others whistled in the background. In response, he dipped her and she lifted up her leg, acting as if they were doing a show for us. We laughed and they let go of each other. Niall walked over to the living room where we were already comfortably sitting and gave us all a hug. "Hello my best friend!" He pulled me up into a hug and gave me a tight squeeze. I laughed and hugged him back. "Hi, Nialler." He let go off me and proceeded to hug Louis who had been sitting next to me. 

I walked over to the kitchen where Harry was preparing some snacks. "Need any help?" He looked up and smiled at me. "No thank you, I think I'm good, but thanks for the offer anyway, love." I looked around in his kitchen. "I like your house. It's very bright and classy, but super cosy at the same time." I complemented him. "Are all of the photos on the walls yours?" He nodded. "They are. I love taking photos. And I'm glad you like my house." We smiled at each other for a few seconds, until I finally looked away and let my eyes wander over the photos on the walls.

"You are very talented, Harry. Maybe this is another career path for you if the singing shouldn't work out." I winked at him and he chuckled, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Thanks, Claire. And actually, I am kind of auditioning for a movie right now." My head snapped around to fast that I nearly cracked my neck. "You WHAT?" I squealed. Harry shushed me with an amused grin on his face. "Shhh, I don't want anyone to know in case it doesn't work out."

I looked at him. He looked kind of insecure, something I didn't think I'd ever see on Harry Styles because he always looked so put together and confident. Without thinking I walked over to him and gave him a hug. "I bet you'd be an amazing actor and I am so proud of you for just trying something completely new. I don't know if I had the guts to do that." I pulled away a little bit and saw that he was smiling down at me, his hands still on my hips.

"You're amazing, you know that right?" he told me and I blushed and hit my face in his chest. I shook my head and felt his chest vibrate from laughter. "You are adorable when you blush." That made me blush even more. I quickly pulled away and tried to hide my now red face from him. "We should get these things over to the living room." I gestured towards the mostly healthy snacks and drinks that he had prepared and he nodded and walked over to where I was standing. We both reached out for a bowl with kale crisps at the same time and our hands touched. Embarrassed, I quickly pulled my hand back and Harry chuckled next to me, but took the bowl and a couple of other things and carried them over to the living room. I took the rest of the plates and drinks and followed him, trying to get my heart beat back to normal.

When I entered the living room, everyone else had already spread themselves out across the sofa, leaving only one space between Harry and Louis. Lily and Niall were cuddling on one end of the massive sofa, which was more like a lounger, and looked super adorable and happy. I put everything I had been carrying on the small table in front of the sofa and tried not to stumble over Harry's long legs which he had stretched out in front of him. Hesitantly, I sat down between the two of them and grabbed a handful of crisps.

"Do we know what movie we are watching?" I asked the others who shook their heads. "No, but Lily just suggested Sherlock Holmes. It's supposed to be really good." Louis explained to me and I nodded. "I'd be down for that." After the rest of us agreed, Harry opened Netflix on his TV and flipped through the movies until he had found it.

The film started and everyone got comfortable. Harry sat back and put his arm on the headrest behind me, while Louis placed one of his hands on my thigh. I shot Lily a helpless look, but she only shrugged and then grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. I shot her a glare, but my attention was soon captured by the movie, which had a lot more tension than I had expected it. In a particularly exciting scene I gripped Louis arm really tightly and he chuckled and took my hand into his and gave it a light squeeze. "You do know that it's just a movie, right?" he asked me with an amused grin and I glared up at him. "Of course I do, but I don't know if he is really dead now or not."

Next to me Harry tried to hold back a laugh, but was failing miserably. "Oh shut up Styles, as if you are super relaxed here." He shot me an innocent look. "Don't pretend I didn't notice how you jumped when the whole thing exploded a few minutes ago." The others laughed and Harry pouted. "Traitor." he said into my ear and I patted his leg. "Don't frown, Harry, someone could fall in love with your smile." Lily burst out laughing and the boys shot both of us questioning looks. "Great Teen Wolf quote, C! I'm proud of you." I grinned smugly and Harry leaned down to whisper something into my ear. "I will need to smile a lot more then." I blushed and Louis shot us a suspicious look, but didn't say anything.

The movie ended and I really needed to pee. I let go of Louis' hand and got up. "Um, could anyone maybe show me where the bathroom is?" I asked and blushed a bit. Harry was about to get up, but Louis jumped to his feet and offered me his hand. "I'll lead the way, Miss Winters." he said with a very posh accent. I giggled, and happily took his hand and lead me down the hallway towards the bathroom. "Thanks, Lou. I'll, um, I'll be out in a minute." Louis smirked. "I'll wait for you then." He let go of my hand and casually leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door, looking like some god, with his high cheekbones, the long eyelashes and his carefully styled hair. I rolled my eyes and closed the door behind me.

When I opened the door two minutes later, he was still leaning against the wall, grinning down at me. "That was more than one minute, Claire." he told me with a twinkle in his eyes. I rolled my eyes again and stuck my tongue out at him. "Be careful, love, I could think of a number of better things you could do with that tongue of yours." He winked at me and I blushed furiously. "Lou!" I hit his chest, but he caught my hand and kept it there. He pulled me closer to him and gently stroked my cheek with his free hand.

We starred at each other for a few seconds, then he leaned in and his lips met mine. We kissed for a couple of seconds, until he pulled away, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I've been wanting to do this since last night." I grinned up at him and leaned back in. We continued kissing until we heard Niall's voice coming from the living room. "Oi, did you fall into the loo or something like that?" We pulled away and Louis send a glare towards the living room. "I think we should better get back to the others." I said with a chuckle and he smiled down at me. "You are probably right, love, come on." He took my hand and we quickly walked down the hallway and back into the living room.

The others eyed us curiously and could obviously count two and two together. "Did you enjoy your trip to the bathroom, Claire?" Niall teased me and I blushed a bit. "Your lips look a bit swollen, did you have an allergic reaction to something and Louis helped you?" Lily hit him, but couldn't help but giggle a bit. Harry stayed surprisingly quiet, but he returned my smile when I looked over to him, however it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Alright, I'm starving. How about we order some food?" Niall suggested and everyone agreed. We ended up ordering Indian take away and just ordered a whole lot of different dishes to share between the five of us. We ended up sitting on the floor around the couch table, happily munching on our food and drinking some wine Harry had pulled out. I leaned back and rubbed my belly. "Aaaaah, life is good. Great company, amazing food, what else can you want in life?" The others laughed at me and Harry raised his glass. "To food and friendships!" We followed his example and clinked our glasses together. "To food and friendships!"


	35. I Need A New Plan Or How I Found Louis In My Bed

We had already said goodbye to the boys on Saturday night because they were busy on Sunday with their X-factor performance and on Monday they were already flying out to the States again for some more promo, after chatting to Nick Grimshaw in the morning. We all had a hard time saying goodbye because we knew we probably wouldn't see each other until December when they would have their final performance on the X-Factor which they were all on the one hand looking forward to and on the other hand really anxious about.

Lily cried a bit and Niall also looked like he might tear up any second. Harry held me for at least a minute, just swaying me from side to side, while gently stroking my hair. I just listened to his heartbeat and tried to ignore the fact that I wouldn't see him for about a month. He gave me a quick kiss on my forehead before letting me go and then quickly turned around and started chatting to Niall.

Louis pulled me aside after I had said goodbye to the others. He pulled me into a tight hug and I hugged him back just as tightly. He pulled away for a bit and just looked down at me. "You are so beautiful, Claire." He gently pushed a couple of loose strands behind my ear. "I'll miss you." I gave him a sad smile. "I'll miss you, too, Lou. But I hope that you have a great time with the lads. This will be your last time for a little while so try to enjoy it as much as possible, okay?" He nodded and gently kissed me one last time, before I let go and quickly hopped into the taxi where Lily was already waiting for me.

It was Monday evening, and I was sitting in my room with some pizza while I was trying to write an essay for my module on human rights. I was struggling with one particular paragraph, when my phone beeped. Happy for any distraction, I checked my messages and saw that Harry and Louis both had texted me. I opened Harry's first which said "Landed safely. It's good to finally see the sun again. Hopefully I'll be able to show you around some time. H x" I grinned and texted him back saying that I had never been to the States and not to get a sunburn.

Louis' message was really sweet. "Finally landed safely in L.A. The lads teased me about you the whole flight. Apparently I have a "stupid grin" on my face every time I talk about you. Don't know what they're talking about, I don't even know how you grin stupidly. ;) I miss you already and I hope you're doing well, love. Louis xxx" I smiled down at my phone. I missed him, too, even though I had just seen him two days go.

"I miss you, too, Lou. I hope the others weren't too annoying, but I'm sure you can defend yourself quite well ;) (I remember someone called Sassmasta from Doncaster). Just skype or call me whenever you're free and I'll try to make it work. I forgot to ask you about Phoebe on Sunday. Is she okay? xxx" I hit sent and worked a bit more on my paragraph before I received a reply. "Phoebs is okay, thanks for asking. She is already bored at home and is getting on my mum's nerves so she should be good as new in a couple of weeks. I'll definitely try to skype you as often as I can, so I can see your beautiful face. Yours truly, the Sassmasta from Doncaster ;) xxx" I giggled at his text.

He was such a kid most of the time and was supposed to turn twenty-four in a couple of weeks. I quickly replied that I was happy that Phoebe was doing better and that I was already looking forward to our next skype call. I worked on my essay for another hour or so until I was too tired to read anything that was on the screen. After getting ready for bed, I plugged in my headphones and listened to Made In The Am for a little while. 'If I Could Fly' was still my favourite song and I was really curious why Harry had written that song. Especially the lyrics of the second verse got to me and I decided to just text him and ask, hoping that he would reply.

I only had to wait a minute or so before my phone beeped again, indicating that I had received a message. "Hi, love, what are you still doing up so late? Isn't it like 1.30am in London right now? The song is mainly about what we talked about on the way to Leeds. The feeling of leaving my family and friends behind, not really having the chance to settle down anywhere, etc. It's a really personal song and so far I haven't really talked about this with anyone. Thank God, people are more interested in a line in 'Perfect' which could potentially be about Taylor Swift that was ironically written by Louis. :D You never have to apologise for asking me anything, Claire. I am happy to share some personal stuff with you because I know that I can trust you 100% and you have also shared some very personal things with me. If you need someone to talk to I am always here for you. Sweet dreams, H xxx"

God, he made not liking him very hard for me. I thanked him for replying and wished him a nice day, before I turned my light of. Too awake to sleep, I lay awake, thinking about everything that had happened during the past few months since I had run into Louis on the train. My whole life had turned into a freaking roller coaster and I never knew what was coming around the corner. I really needed some time to think and having neither Harry nor Louis around probably helped a lot. Maybe it was better to not get involved with either of them, but I had already tried that option and had failed miserably, so I needed another plan, and I needed it soon.

***********

The next few weeks passed in the blink of an eye. I tried to keep up with all the interviews they were doing which was kind of impossible because they seemed to be doing at least three a day. What I noticed while I watched them, was how much the interviewers still particularly liked to pick on Harry. Not everyone, for sure, but at least eight out of ten seemed to ask him about this one line in 'Perfect' or made him look like a womanizer and player, something I knew he was the complete opposite of.

I huffed in frustration and decided to text Harry, who I hadn't heard from in a couple of days. "Hey, are you okay? Haven't heard anything from you in a while. :) I've been trying to keep up with your interviews and I just wanted to tell you that I admire how you handle the same questions every single interview and the fact that they are still trying to make you look like a complete arse and womanizer which I know you're not. I wish I could come over and have a nice little chat with them, but unfortunately I'm stuck in England. Can't wait to see you again soon! C xxx Ps. You should probably hide your toothbrushes from Niall ;)"

I cuddled deeper into my pile of blankets. It had suddenly become super cold during the past few days, but at the same time Christmas was approaching with massive steps and with that the return of the boys and Louis' birthday. They would be back in three days and I was already counting down the hours until I would see them again. For obvious reasons I couldn't go and collect them from the airport, but I had promised both Harry and Louis to pop by really quickly the night they would arrive to say hello.

Louis had told me that he had made some plans for our date and I was very nervous about it. On the one hand, I was looking forward to going out on a date with Louis, but at the same time I was unsure if it would be weird or not. I couldn't even answer Lily when she had asked why it would be weird. Maybe it was because I still couldn't explain why he had chosen me of all people to go on a date with. Our date would be on the 19th of December, but he hadn't revealed anything else yet. Another big worry of mine were the paparazzi who could always find us, wherever Louis was taking me and I wasn't sure if I was ready to let the public know that i was dating Louis. My phone beeped and interrupted my thoughts about our date. Harry had sent me a text.

"Hi love, thank you for your text. Made my day. :) Please don't worry about me, I got used to it over the years. As long as people like you, who are important to me, know the truth, I try to ignore what the rest of the world is thinking. However, I would love to see you have a nice chat with some of the people. Can't wait to see you either, love. It's been too long. And I have already hidden my toothbrush, thanks. ;) All the love, H xxx" I smiled down at my phone, glad that he didn't let these idiots get to him. He deserved to be treated so much better than that. I turned the light of and quickly fell asleep, dreaming of defending a certain curly-haired lad with a big green toothbrush.

When I woke up the next morning, I wasn't alone in my bed. I squeaked and without thinking I hit the person with my pillow. "Ouch, I get that you're happy to see me but you don't have to hit me head, love!" I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I'd recognise that voice any time. "Louis?" I asked surprised. It was indeed Louis Tomlinson who was lying in my bed next to me, grinning widely. I poked his cheek and then pulled him into a hug. "Holy shit you are real!" I exclaimed. He laughed and hugged back just as tightly. "How are you here? I thought you weren't supposed to come back for another two days!"

I pulled away a little bit and saw the hint of a blush on Louis' face. "I couldn't wait another day. I missed you and my family too much." I grinned widely at him and suddenly became very much aware of how close our face were. Our eyes connected and I saw him fondly starring down at me. He cupped my cheek with his hand. "I missed you, love." I smiled widely at him. "I missed you, too, Lou. It's just not the same without you idiots around." Louis pretended to be hurt. "Idiots? I hope you are referring to the other three, love. Otherwise I might reconsider surprising you ever again by taking an early flight home and-." But I interrupted him by putting my finger over his lips. "Shut up and kiss me, Tomlinson." Louis' eyes lit up and he took my finger off his lips. "Your wish is my command." he said, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. And then he kissed me.

Nothing was said for the next two minutes or so until I finally pulled away. "God, I bet I have morning breath and everything. And my hair must be a mess." I groaned and run my hand through my hair. Louis chuckled. "You look cute in the mornings, and I enjoy kissing you no matter what time of the day it is." He send me a cheeky wink and I blushed a bit. "Good to know." I said in a dry tone and pushed the blanket of my legs. I was only wearing an over-sized t-shirt and Louis' eyes wandered down to my bare legs until I cleared my throat. "My eyes are up here." His eyes shot up and I smirked.

"As much as I'd love to stay here in bed with you all day, I have to prepare for my exams and finish my last essay for this year." He pouted and I nearly gave in, but I really needed to finish my final essay on human rights that I was struggling with at the moment and I still needed to study for two exams. "I'm sorry, Lou. The essay is due tomorrow and I am not even close to finishing it and my exams are both on Friday, so I really have to study." He sighed and climbed out of my bed as well. "Don't worry about it, love. I know how important this is and I would hate to be the cause for you doing badly at university. Unfortunately, I have a very limited knowledge on international politics, otherwise I would have helped you study."

I squeezed his shoulder. "Thanks Lou, but maybe you could drive up to Doncaster and enjoy some time with your family. I'll see you on Sunday for your final performance, right?" He nodded and stood up. "Thank you so much for surprising me this morning. I can't imagine a better way to wake up." I told him and he smiled. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked out of my room. Twenty seconds later, he was back in my room and with three big steps, he was in front of me and crashed his lips onto mine. We kissed for a couple of seconds until he pulled back with a wide grin. "Now I'm okay to go." Whistling, he made his way to the front door and a few seconds later, he was gone. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and after a quick shower and some breakfast I went back to work and studied until late that night. I had taken two weeks off work for my studies and I was already regretting it because I was always tight on money and I still needed to shop for Christmas presents and something for Louis' birthday. 

When I was too tired to concentrate on anything complicated, I went on tumblr and saw some photos of Harry with Kendall Jenner. They looked amazing together and it was obvious that they got along well. I wondered whether they were just friends or more and a pang of jealousy shot through me. Shaking my head, I tried to ignore what I was feeling. I couldn't be jealous. I wasn't even allowed to be jealous. Harry and I were just friends and I was happy with Louis. He deserved to find an amazing girl who made him happy and if that girl was Kendall, so be it. I sighed and closed tumblr again. Maybe I should just go to bed. I needed to hand in my essay by noon tomorrow and had to do some last minutes studying for my exams, so sleep was essential. I got ready for bed, send Louis a good night text and then turned off my light.

However, I was wide awake and couldn't stop thinking about the photos of Harry and Kendall. She was really pretty and a lot more dating material for Harry then I would ever be. With a sigh, I rolled over and tried to think of something else. Louis popped into my head I smiled widely at the memories of his surprise visit this morning. I pulled the blanket up to my chin and with a small smile on my face, I finally fell asleep.


	36. Tattoos Or How I Ended Up With Harry's Beanie

Despite everything that was going on in my life, my exams went surprisingly well. I had a good feeling when I handed the papers in and hoped that I would get some good marks for the huge amount of time and work that I had put into the preparation. It was now early evening and I was on my way home from uni, to freshen up a bit before I went over to Harry's place. He would be back at his house around seven and I had promised him to drop by really quickly after uni to say hi. Louis had been texting me quite frequently during the past two days and he had also sent me some adorable photos of him and his family, some of them made their way onto Instagram as well. He looked genuinely happy to be surrounded by his loved ones and I was glad that I hadn't kept him from seeing them. I was already honoured that he had chosen to come and see me first.

After changing into a new set of clothes, I put my books and notepads away until January and wrote a short note for Lily telling her that I was over at Harry's place. Then I hopped onto a bus and half an hour later I was standing in front of Harry's house. My palms were sweaty and I smoothed my hair down before I walked up towards his front door. Just like Louis' house, nothing about this house gave away who was living behind the white walls. I rang the doorbell and anxiously waited for the door to open.

A few seconds later, the door swung open and a widely grinning Harry stood in the doorway. He looked great, even after the long flight. His hair must had grown at least another inch since I had last seen him. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants, something I hadn't seen him wearing before, and a long-sleeved dark green t-shirt. He cleared his throat and I blushed and looked up, embarrassed about getting caught starring at him. We looked at each other for a couple of seconds before he simply opened his arms and pulled me into a hug.

He buried his face in my hair and held me for a bit until he pulled away, smiling down at me. "Hi." he said in a slightly hoarse voice. I smiled up at him, very much aware of how close we were. "Hi." We grinned at each other, before he pulled me into the house and shut the door behind me. "I'm sorry about the mess. I literally just arrived and hadn't had time to unpack, yet." he said, gesturing to the pile of bags, jackets and shoes on the floor next to the door.

I sat down on the stairs with led to the upper floors and smiled up at him. "Don't worry about it. You shouldn't see my room when I come back from a trip." I pulled a face and stood up, struggling to take my big winter coat off. That made him grin. "That bad, hm?" he asked and when he saw that I was struggling quickly added. "Here, let me help you with that." He helped me out of coat and hung it up with my scarf next to his fancy coats and jackets. I thanked him quietly and he gestured me to follow him into the kitchen.

"Would you like something to drink? Tea? Cocoa?" He stood in front of a cupboard, two mugs in his hands as he waited for my answer. I thought for a moment. "A cup of tea would be amazing, thank you." I sat down on one of the chairs and watched him make to cups of tea. He turned around and placed the two steaming mugs on the kitchen table, before he sat down himself, facing me. "I wish I could offer you something to eat, but I haven't had the chance to go to the shops yet and my fridges and cupboards are empty." he apologised. I shook my head and took a sip of my tea, immediately regretting it because it was still very hot and burnt my tongue. Trying not to show how much pain I was in, I quickly swallowed my tea. "Please don't worry about it. I didn't expect anything other than your lovely company when I decided to come over." I told him and he grinned. "Now I'm relieved. I thought I would have to order us a five course meal somewhere to satisfy your needs." He winked at me and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Soooo, how was the promo? How was it to perform some of the new songs?" I asked him eagerly and he chuckled. "And here I was thinking I was done with these questions until Sunday." I batted my eyelashes at him and did my best puppy eyes and he sighed dramatically. "Alright, but only because it's you who's asking." I grinned in victory and leaned back, enjoying the nice view and my tea. "Promo was exhausting. They seem to ask the same four questions or so over and over again. But some of the interviews are great with very thoughtful questions that are fun to answer. And to answer your second question, performing the new songs was amazing. The crowds really seemed to enjoy themselves and even knew most of the lyrics already."

His eyes light up when talked about the performing part and I couldn't help but smile. He frowned, confused what I was smiling about. "Why are you looking at me like that?" My smile widened. "You are cute when you are so happy and excited." He shook his head at me. "Am not." He eyed me with a determined look on his face. "Are, too." We had a starring contest until we both burst out laughing after a couple of seconds. "God, I missed you, Claire." I blushed a little bit at that, but send him a shy smile. "I missed you, too, Harry." He reached over the table and squeezed my hand. 

Suddenly I had an idea and I smirked. "So, I saw that you got a new tattoo on the Late Late Show, can I have a look?" I asked and did my best puppy eyes. He rolled his eyes at my childish behaviour, but rolled up his sleeve nevertheless, while I walked around the kitchen table to get a closer look. There it was, 'Late Late' right on his arm. "I would love to have seen Niall's reaction if it had been him. Or James!" I chuckled and Harry grinned. "Niall was a wreck. I thought he was going to faint from excitement and promised him to volunteer if he should be the one after James didn't get it." I smiled up at him and saw him already looking down at me. "You are such a great friend. Niall owes you big time."

He nodded and I turned my focus back to his arm. I traced his tattoos, turning his arm to get a better look at some of them. Lightly, I followed the lines of his anchor. "This has always been my favourite one." I told him quietly and he hummed. "Why that in particular?" I gently traced the tattoo a second time before wandering down to his small cross on his hand. "Because I like the meaning of anchors. I thought about getting one myself, but I haven't done it yet. For me, it symbolises strength, home and stability and security." I told him and I felt his intense gaze on me and looked up.

"That's exactly why I got it." He told me, surprise in his voice. "It's one my favourites as well." he admitted. I continued tracing his tattoos for another half a minute or so until I was interrupted by his deep voice. "Do you have any tattoos?" I jumped a bit and looked up. Harry was looking down at me, his eyes holding me in place. I let go of his arm and looked down at my hands. "I do." I finally admitted and looked up again. His face split into a wide grin and he had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Can I see them?" he asked me and I blushed a bit. "Um, they are a bit hidden." His grin widened. "I don't mind." 

I rolled my eyes at him, but got up from my chair and carefully lifted my top. I unhooked my bra and pulled it aside to let Harry see what was hidden underneath it. He was quiet for a moment, just observing. "It's beautiful, Claire." He said quietly and gently traced the words and the swallows with his fingertips, making me shiver. "If you don't spread your wings, you'll never know how far you can fly." He read out loud. I cleared my throat. "I got it two years ago. I had just gotten out of a difficult relationship and didn't feel like myself anymore, having lost all of my confidence. I got this to remind me why I am here and that I sometimes just have to take a leap of faith to get where I want to go." I explained to him. I quickly put my bra back on and pulled my top down again.

There was a short silence until my stomach grumbled loudly which made both of us laugh. "I think that means that we'll have to organise ourselves something to eat." Harry said with a grin and I blushed. "I don't want to be a burden to you, maybe I should just go." I got up, but Harry's hand caught my arm and held me in place. "Hey, you could never be a burden to me, alright?" he told me in a serious tone and I nodded. "How about we order some takeaway?" he asked me and I nodded. He let go off my hand and walked into the hallway to get the phone, while I slumped down into the kitchen hair, wondering what I had done to deserve such a great friend in my life.

When he came back a few seconds later, I jumped a bit, having been completely lost in thought. "Hey, are you okay?" Harry shot me a concerned look and I nodded and smiled at him. "Perfect, actually." He didn't seem completely convinced, but quickly dropped the subject. "So, what kind of takeaway would you like to eat?" I shrugged. "To be honest I am not very picky as long as it's vegetarian." He nodded and then walked over to the kitchen counter and looked through some brochures and magazines. A few seconds later he handed me a menu for a Chinese and one for an Indian place. "That's what I would be up for tonight, are you okay with any of them?" he asked me and I nodded. "I haven't had Indian since I was here the last time, so I would love to get that." He nodded and put the Chinese menu back in its place next to the microwave. "How about we order a couple of dishes and just share?" he suggested and I agreed and pulled the menu closer to get a proper look at it.

We ended up ordering four different dishes and then walked over to his living room to get a bit more comfortable while we waited for our food. Harry told me some funny stories that happened while he was over in the States and I told him what happened in my life since he had left. I didn't dare to mention Kendall and he didn't mention her either, so I tried to talk about anything but her. At one point he asked me about my dad and I felt my throat closing up. "He was in hospital for a couple of days two weeks ago, but he is better now and back at home. Keeps my mum on her toes." I gave him a weak smile and he instantly slid over to where I was sitting and pulled me into a hug. "

I am so sorry to hear that, Claire. Why didn't you call me?" I shrugged and leaned my head against his chest. "I guess, I didn't want to bother you while you were doing all of your promo stuff." Harry pulled away and made me look at him, by lightly turning up my chin. His eyes were really serious and I knew that I was in trouble. "Claire, you can call me ANY time, okay? It doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing or what time it is. If something happens and you need someone, please give me a ring, okay?" I nodded and he pulled me back into a hug and just held me until we were interrupted by the doorbell. I felt him kiss my head before he got up to get our food. "Wait, let me pay!" I insisted, but he ignored me and quickly paid for our food before coming back into the living room.

I crossed my arms and pouted. "You never let me pay for anything." I complained. He chuckled and put our food down on the little table in front of his sofa. "Claire, we've been over this. I have way too much money to spend and I know that you are very tight on money right now, so please let this me my treat tonight, okay? For a friend?" I could never resist these big green eyes, particularly not when he wanted to convince me of something. "Alright, you win." I gave in and threw my hands into the air and he laughed.

We spent the rest of the night eating and chatting on his sofa, until I yawned every two minutes, suddenly really tired after a long day. Slowly, I got up and stretched my legs and my arms. "I think I should head home." I told him with an apologetic smile and he pouted, but got up as well. He insisted on calling me a taxi which was at his house within five minutes and then walked me to the door and helped me into my coat. He gently put my scarf around my neck, before reaching up and pulling one of his beanies out of a box. "Here, it's bloody freezing outside." I smiled and hesitantly pulled his beany over my head. He grinned down at me, his dimples popping out on both sides. "Looks better on you than on me anyway." I rolled my eyes, but was secretly freaking out. "I doubt that." I told him and his grin faltered.

"You really need to work on accepting compliments, love." he told me and I blushed a bit and opened his front door. "Thank you for the great evening." I thanked him and turned around to hug him. He hugged me back just as tightly and gently kissed my forehead. "And next time I'm paying." I told him and I felt his lips curl into a smile before he let me go. "We'll see about that, love." We smiled at each other, before I turned around and carefully walked down the stairs and the path to his gate. "I waved one last time, before climbing into the taxi and grudgingly handed the taxi driver the twenty pound note Harry had sneaked into my hand before I had left. I really couldn't afford a taxi at the moment and I knew that he would never take the money back anyway. I looked out of the window and saw Harry standing in his door, giving me one last wave before the taxi drove around a corner out of sight.


	37. Curious George Or The End Of An Era

I spent most of the Saturday in bed, watching friends and only getting up to use the bathroom or to get some food from the kitchen. After all the studying I had done I felt like I deserved a day off. Around 6pm, the doorbell rang and I heard Lily answering the door. A few seconds later a loud squeal could be heard and then Niall's laughter, followed by a long silence. I heard them laugh and talk in the hallway and a few seconds later Lily's bedroom door was shut and I turned the volume of my computer up a bit, just in case they were doing more than talking, cuddling and kissing. After another episode of friends, my phone rang. "Hello?" I answered without checking the caller id first.

"Hey, love." Louis' voice sounded through the speaker. A wide smile spread across my face. "Hey, Lou. What are you up to? Enjoying some family time?" I sat up at bit more, readjusting the computer on my lab. "I am, thank you." He sounded very happy and that was all I wanted for him. "Was your family surprised to see you three days early?" I asked him. "They were. Me mum started crying and the girls completely freaked out when they saw me. At the moment I'm watching some TV with Doris and Ernest." I laughed. "What are you watching? Nothing too exciting, I presume."

In the background I heard someone ask Louis something and he excused himself for a second. I heard him talk quietly to one of his siblings, before he was back on the phone. "Sorry, about that. We are watching Curious George, and I think it might be a little bit too exciting for Doris." he commented and I chuckled. "Well it is very exciting, I don't blame her." We talked for another ten minutes or so until his mum needed him for something. "I'm sorry that I have to go, love. I wish I could chat to you for a bit longer." he apologised. "Don't worry about it, Lou. Please say to your family from me." I heard some more shouting in the background and laughed. "Now go, before they kill you." He laughed as well. "Thanks, love. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I smiled widely. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

The time until Lily and I had to leave for the X-factor passed quicker than we had thought. One minute we were both getting ready in our rooms and fighting over the bathroom, the next minute we were already sitting in the car that Niall had sent to pick us both up. He and Lily had decided to not hide their relationship anymore from tonight on and she was very nervous about being seen with him in public for the very first time. "You will be fine, Lil, promise. I will take care of you and the boys, too. Niall won't let anything happen to you, okay?" I squeezed her hand and thought about Louis. I wasn't sure if I would be ready to go public with him any time soon. But we weren't even properly dating yet so that was something I could think about later.

"You are very brave for doing this you, know?" I told her and she gave me a weak smile. "He is special, Claire. He is the most amazing guy I have ever met and the fact that he likes me back makes me the luckiest girl on the planet. I know that this is important to him. He told me that he wants to show everyone what an amazing woman he's dating." She blushed and smiled absentmindedly. I pinched her cheek and she pushed my hand out of her face. "When you fall in love with someone you'll know what I'm talking about." she told me and I immediately shut up.

Lily must have sensed that I was upset because she gave my hand a light squeeze and patted my knee. "You'll work out what's best for you. Just follow your heart." I nodded and nervously started playing the hem of my t-shirt. I would try to stay away from the boys when we were in public tonight, or at least not show any other affection than friendship towards any of them. This was their night and I wanted to be there to support them, but I also didn't want to get photographed or filmed doing anything that could potentially end up as a headline somewhere, which was always a risk if you were female and friends with any of them.

When we arrived at the arena where the show would take place we both looked around excitedly, trying to take everything in. There were so many people here, and it was super exciting to be behind the scenes of such a big show. Our driver had handed us over to a security guard who had given us backstage passes and who was now guiding us through the backstage area to where the boys were getting ready for their last performance in a little while. His name was John and he was in his late thirties. He was very funny and we had a great time chatting to him about his job and his wife and kids as well. We were nearly a little bit sad when we arrived at the boys' dressing room and had to say goodbye to him.

Lily knocked on the door and it opened a seconds later, revealing Gemma's grinning face. "Claire! Good to see you!" She pulled me into a hug and then looked over to Lily. "And you must be Lily. Niall hasn't shut up about you since he arrived." She pulled a blushing Lily into a hug as well and then closed the door behind us. The room was big and there were a lot of friends and family members present already, making my palms all sweaty and my heart beat a little faster. Gemma gave me a little nudge with her shoulder and smirked at me. "Did you have a good time at the party last month, Claire?" She asked me and I blushed furiously, remembering how Harry and I had run into her when we were both already completely wasted. "I did, thank you very much." I said, trying to keep my dignity. She grinned and opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Niall.

"There's my girl." He pulled Lily into a kiss and she blushed deeply, but had a wide smile on her face when he pulled away. Everyone cheered and he pulled her over to where his friends from back home and his family were standing. Suddenly my eyes were covered from behind and I could smell a familiar cologne. "Guess who?" Harry said in a high pitched voice. I pretended to have to think about it. "Hmmmmm... I don't know. Liam?" I turned around and was met with a widely smiling Harry who immediately pulled me into a tight hug. 

"Hi love." I grinned widely. "Hi Harry." We pulled apart and just smiled at each other until Gemma cleared her throat. "I think I'll try to find mum, little brother." She shot us a knowing look and disappeared into the crowd. "How was your weekend so far?" Harry asked me and grinned down at me. "Pretty uneventful until now." I told him and he chuckled. "I binge-watched one and a half season of friends yesterday and stayed in bed all day." I admitted and he laughed. "That sounds indeed very uneventful." He looked over to where Niall and Lily were standing with his family. "They are an adorable couple, aren't they?" I nodded and watched how Lily blushed at something Maura had said and how Niall protectively put an arm around her waist. "They really deserve each other." I agreed and looked down at my hands.

Suddenly, I was lifted into the air and the next thing I knew was that I was hanging upside down. "Louis, for fuck's sake! Let me down!" He only laughed and proceeded to carry me into a small changing room which was attached to the big dressing room. I mouthed a "Sorry" in Harry's direction who was doubling over from laughter, while trying to record this moment on his phone. I stuck out my tongue at him, before Louis closed the door behind us and we were alone.

He carefully put me down and I glared at him and crossed my arms over my chest. He smirked down at me. "It's good to see you, too, love." He leaned in for a kiss, but I turned my head away in the last second and instead he kissed my ear. "Come on, love, don't pout." He started placing light kisses all over my face and slowly wandered down to my mouth until I couldn't help myself anymore and smiled up at him. "There is the smile I've been wanting to see." He pecked my lips, but I pulled him closer to me and we shared a short, but very sweet kiss. "Why the heck did you carry me out like that? People will suspect things." I told him with a slight panic in my voice and hit his chest. Louis rubbed the spot where I had hit him, but then noticed that I was upset and immediately turned serious. He cupped my face with his hands and made me look him in the eyes. "Hey, no one will suspect anything. Most people here know that we're friends and I do that to my friends all the time, so don't worry about, alright? We'll just have to careful outside of this room, especially in the arena with all the cameras and fans." I relaxed a little bit and he pulled me into a hug.

"Are you nervous about tonight?" I asked into his chest and I felt him nod. "Of course I am, I mean it's our last performance for a little while and it's just weird to know that we won't be doing this for some time, you know? And I think Simon prepared a little surprise for us which I'm not looking forward to. They turn this into something much bigger than it actually is." Someone knocked on the door and a moment later, Liam poked his head through the door. "Hi, Claire." He smiled at me and then looked over to Louis. "We kind of need to get into hair and make-up, mate, sorry." Louis let go of me and we followed Liam out of the small room.

We run into Lottie who immediately pulled me into a hug and then proceeded to talk to me until the show was about to start. We were all seated in an area that was especially reserved for friends and families of the boys and I felt so honoured to be a part of this group now. Lily found her way over to me and took my hand, nearly breaking the bones by squeezing it so hard. "You'll be fine." I told her quietly and she nodded, but she was shaking a little bit which told me how nervous she was. Then the boys took the stage for the very last time for a little while and we watched them with big smiles on our faces and tears in our eyes, very happy and sad at the same time. It was the end of an era, after all, even though it didn't mean the end of One Direction.


	38. Harry The Unicorn Or How I Will Get An Anchor Tattoo

As soon as the song had finished, the boys made their way off stage towards the family section. Niall was in front of us with a few big steps and pulled Lily into him, giving her a long kiss which made all of the fans around us scream and gasp. When he pulled away, he was smiling proudly and whispered something into Lily's ear which made her blush deeply. People were so excited about Niall and Lily that thankfully no one paid much attention to me standing next to her. A few meters next to me, Liam was hugging his parents and so were Louis and Harry. I caught Harry's eyes and saw that he was tearing up so I send him an encouraging smile which he half-heartedly returned.

It was all a bit chaotic after the show had finished, so it took us a while to make our way back to the boys' dressing room. As soon as I had set foot into the room, Harry pulled me into a tight hug. He was obviously a bit emotional and I just held him for a few seconds until he led go off me. "Sorry." he immediately apologised. I squeezed his hand. "No problem, H." He smiled down at me and then was called by his mum from across the room. He sent me an apologetic smile and quickly walked over to where she was standing.

While I was waiting for Louis to make an appearance, I received a text. "Hi kiddo, please tell your boy that this was a great last performance. I miss you, we should talk sometime soon and plan on when you'll be getting here for Christmas. Love you. Dad xxx" I teared up a bit reading this and made a mental note to give him a ring tomorrow after work. Then I sent a screenshot of the first part of the text to Harry who responded with a smiley and a little emoji crown. I sent him one which rolled its eyes and sent me a gif of himself pouting. I burst out laughing and quickly texted him back. You have gifs of yourself pouting saved on your phone?" I giggled while I waited for a reply which came seconds later in form of a gif of him flipping his hair over his shoulder. "You're impossible." I replied and looked over to where he was standing. He was smirking at his phone. A few seconds later I received another text. "But you love me for it. X" I looked up and saw him smirking over at me and shoved my phone back into my purse.

Niall and Lily returned to the room, holding hands and looking happier than ever. I was very happy for them and gave Lily thumbs up when she looked in my direction to which she responded with a wide smile. Suddenly I heard some loud noise coming from the corridor and everyone's heads turned towards the door. In walked Louis, not in the slightest embarrassed about being the one making so much noise. He was joking around with Liam and a couple of his mates and looked a lot more relaxed than before the show. It was like a big weight had fallen off his shoulders. He caught me starring at him and his face split into a wide grin. With five big steps he was in front of me, smirking down at me. "Hey, love. Did you enjoy the show?" I grinned up at him. "I did. Especially the video montage Simon put together for you." His smirk faltered a bit and he pinched my waist a bit which make me squeak.

He laughed at my reaction and pulled me into a hug which I returned, but I quickly pulled away when I saw everyone starring at us. A hurt look crossed his face, but he quickly recovered and seemed to understand why I had pulled away. "Most of us are off for a big party with the band, crew, friends and family. Do you wanna come?" I pulled a face. "God I wish I could, but I have an early shift at the hotel tomorrow. I have to work more the next few weeks because I took the last two weeks off." His grin faltered. "I'm sorry, Lou. You know that I would love to do nothing more than go out with you guys now and get ridiculously drunk again, but I have to be at work by 8am tomorrow morning and it's my first shift after two weeks off, so I can't be hangover and tired."

Louis put a finger over my lips and I tried to bite it, which made him pull away very quickly and me chuckle. "You don't have to explain yourself, love. I completely understand. Should I get someone to drop you off home?" he asked me and I nodded. "That would be great, thank you." He smiled down at me and lifted his hand up as if he wanted to stroke my cheek, but then remembered that we were in public and just run his fingers through his hair. "I'll ask around for someone to give you a lift home, alright?" He gave my shoulder a light squeeze and disappeared into the crowd before I could even reply.

I awkwardly waited in a corner of the room and tried to look as if I was completely okay with being in a big room filled with people, most of which I didn't know. I checked my phone just to have something to do, until someone tapped my shoulder. Looking up, I saw Lou Teasdale smiling at me. "Hi, Claire, right?" I nodded and smiled at her. "That's right. I'm not sure if we have been introduced, but it's nice to meet you." She smiled back at me. "Ditto. Louis and Harry won't shut about you so I thought that I should see for myself who they were so intrigued by." She winked at me and I blushed. Thankfully, I was saved by a little girl tugging at Lou's hand.

"Mummy?" Lou looked down and took her daughter's hand into her own. "Lux, this is Harry and Louis' friend Claire. Claire, this is my daughter, Lux." I smiled down at her and gave her a little wave. "Hi, Lux." She shyly smiled at me and hid her face behind her hair. "She is a bit shy at the beginning, but you won't get rid of her once she's warmed up to you." Lou explained and proudly smiled down at her daughter. I squatted down in front of Lux. "I really love your shirt. Do you like unicorns?" I asked her and she nodded. Smiling, I leaned in a bit closer. "Do you want to know a secret?" I asked her and she nodded and leaned in a bit as well. "I think Harry is secretly a unicorn. He is always wearing sparkly boots." She giggled. "And he has a mane." She said and now it was my turn to laugh. I looked up and saw Lou fondly smiling down at us. "You're great with kids." she complimented me. I blushed a bit and stood up again. "Thank you. And you have a great daughter." I winked at Lux and she giggled.

Harry chose this moment to stroll over to us and Lux and I exchanged a look and started giggling. He looked down at us with a stern look on his face which made us only giggle harder. "What's so funny, ladies?" he asked us and poked Lux in the stomach which her squeak and hide behind me. I tried to look as innocent as possible, but failed miserably and burst out laughing. "You're a unicorn, Harry." Lux told him from her safe spot behind me. Harry frowned and sent Lou a questioning look, but she only shook her head and bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. "May I ask why you decided that I'm a unicorn, love?" He asked Lux and she shook her head. "It was Claire's idea." He shot me a look and I smiled innocently at him. "Is that so?" Lux nodded.

"Well, I was about to offer her a ride home, but now I'm not so sure." Harry said and smirked down at me. I pouted and batted my eyelashes at him. Lux seemed to have decided that it was save enough to come out of hiding and poked out her head from my legs. "But it's just a joke, Harry. It's because of your sparkly boots and your long hair." A grin spread across Harry's face. "I see. Well, then I might reconsider my decision. Claire, would you like a ride home?" he asked me with a twinkle in his eyes. I pretended to have to think about it. "Hmmmmm, let's see... Yes, that would be great, thank you, Harry." I replied graciously. He smirked down at me and offered me his hand, which I took.

We said our goodbyes to Lou and Lux and then started to look for some other familiar faces, me especially for Louis. I found him surrounded by his sisters and tapped his shoulder with my free hand. He turned around and his face light up when he saw me. When he noticed that me and Harry were holding hands, a shadow crossed his face and I immediately let go of Harry's hand to pull him into a hug. "It's not what it looks like, Lou. He only took my hand to safely get me across the room towards the exist. I didn't think about it." I felt him nod against my shoulder and then he pulled away. "We'll see each other sometime this week before our date on Friday, right?" he asked me in a hopeful voice and I nodded. "I'll try to make it work, I am quite busy with work this week, but I'll keep you updated, okay?" I promised him. "Thank you for coming, love."He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and told Harry to drive carefully, before he let me go. "Thank you for inviting me." I thanked him and gave his hand one light squeeze, before Harry pulled me away.

After saying goodbye to some other people, including Niall and Lily who seemed to be inseparable, we finally escaped to the corridor and Harry let go of my hand, just in case we run into some fans. There was a silence between us as we walked towards his car, but it wasn't awkward at all. It never seemed to be awkward with Harry, something I really liked about him. We safely arrived at his car which was parked at the very back of the arena car park where the x-factor show had taken place and climbed into the car. "Thank you for being here today." Harry thanked me quietly and pulled out of the car park. Surprised, I looked over to him. "Thank you for wanting me here." We smiled at each other before, he told me to duck while we drove past the fans. No one even knew that he was in this car, but you never knew and I really didn't want to be photographed in a car with Harry Styles. 

We drove in silence for a few minutes with only the radio playing quietly in the background. "How come, that you're not out with the others?" I asked him quietly and he looked over to me for a moment. "I haven't been feeling well for the past month or so and I'm really not feeling well enough to go out clubbing tonight. Too exhausted." I shot him a concerned look. He did look tired without the make up he had worn for the show with dark shadows underneath his eyes and a slightly pale skin colour. "Are you okay?" I asked him in a worried tone and he reached over and gave my hand a light squeeze. "I will be." he assured me. That satisfied me a little bit, at least for now, and I tried to move onto another topic.

"What are you gonna do with your life now?" I asked with a small grin and he shrugged. "Probably go to the job centre tomorrow." he joked and we laughed. "No, just kidding. I'll probably take some time off, just enjoying life a little bit, meet up with some old friends, sleep in, work out." He looked over to me with a grin and added with a meaningful look. "Get some more tattoos." I rolled my eyes at him, but grinned back. "I bet you will." He laughed. "We could go and get one together?" he suggested and my stomach flipped. "You could get your anchor and I have been thinking about getting an eagle on my right arm to cover up 'Things I Can'." he told me and I looked up, a bit surprised. "Really?" He nodded. "That's a great idea, Harry. Just do whatever makes you happy." He smiled over at me and then wiggled his eyebrows at me. "So, are you up for it?" I thought about it for a bit. "Sure, why not." His smile grew wider. "Then I am very much looking forward to getting my next tattoo." he said and I smiled and looked out of the window, watching the cars passing by. "Me, too." I said quietly and smiled a little more.


	39. McDonald's Or How I Nearly Beat Louis At FIFA

The next few days were mainly spent at work or in my bed sleeping. On Wednesday night, Louis unexpectedly picked me up from work by car. I just got a simple text saying "I'm parking behind the hotel, come out whenever you're finished with work." I quickly got changed into a pair of jeans and a big sweatshirt and after a quick goodbye to my colleagues, I made my way towards the back of the hotel which usually was reserved for special guests.

Louis was indeed waiting inside his car in order to prevent a) freezing to death and b) being seen. I climbed into the passenger seat and pecked his cheek before I put my seat belt on and got comfortable. "Hi, love." I gave him a tired smile. "Hi." He chuckled. "Tough day at work?" I nodded. "The worst. I haven't had dinner yet, so if you are already nice enough to pick me up from work can we please stop somewhere to get some food?" I practically begged him and he laughed. "Sure thing love, no problem. I know you don't eat meat, but is McDonald's okay with you? You could get a veggie burger."

My face light up. "I haven't been there for ages, oh, I need to buy a milkshake!" He grinned at my excitement and after a twenty minute drive we stopped at the McDonald's Drive Through. The girl behind the counter nearly had a heart attack when she saw Louis in the driver's seat. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." she said really quickly. Then she took a really deep breath and asked a bit calmer "What would you like to order, Sir?" She shot me a curious look, but didn't say anything. Louis smiled at her and she blushed a little bit, not that I could blame her.

"I would like to have a BBQ Chicken BLC, an extra-large portion of chips and some Chicken McNuggets, please. Oh, and a coke, as well." She typed everything into her computer and then looked over to me. "What would you like to order, Miss?" I smiled at her. "Um, I haven't been here in forever, so correct me if I talk any rubbish." She nodded with a slight grin on her face. "Could I please have a veggie burger..." Next to me Louis tried to hide a laugh. "Shut up, Tomlinson. I don't even know why we're friends. You're always mean to me."

He rolled his eyes and said in a mock whisper "She is not always like that. Most of the time she's actually quite nice." The girl at the drive through laughed. "Anything else for you, Miss?" I nodded. "Yes, sorry about this idiot here." Louis pinched me and I squeaked. "Ow, for fuck's sake, Louis, let a poor girl order her food!" I took a deep breath and tried to ignore Louis' smug grin. "As I was trying to say, could I also have a bag of medium chips and a chocolate milkshake, please?" The girl laughed and tipped in my order. "Will this be all for today?" Louis and I exchanged a look. "I think so, yes, thank you, love. Without wanting to sound vain in any way..." This time it was my turn to giggle. Louis glared at me and then continued.

"What I wanted to ask is, would you like an autograph or photo? You seem to be a fan and I am not sure if you are someone who would ask for this while being at work." He smiled at her and her eyes got wide and she blushed. "Would you do this for me?" she asked him and he nodded. "Otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it." She blushed even deeper and held out a pen and a piece of paper. "Would you mind signing this for me? I've been a fan since 2012 and this is kind of surreal right now." She chuckled.

Louis signed the piece of paper for her and even asked for her name. "Okay, Melissa, would you like a photo as well?" She nodded and send me a questioning look. "Would you mind, um, could you perhaps take the photo?" I smiled at her. "Absolutely. Wait a second." I undid my seatbelt and sat up to bring the phone into a better position. "Here you go, love. I hope they turned out okay." She send me a grateful look. "Thanks, I hope you two have a nice evening." We said our goodbyes and drove forward to the next window, while I put my seatbelt on again. In the next window was a guy in his mid-twenties who either didn't recognise Louis or didn't care that he was there. He handed us our food and Louis pulled out some cash to pay for our meals. "No, no, no, no, I can pay for my food!" I protested, but Louis ignored me and after a few seconds I slumped back into my seat in defeat.

"You make people paying for your food seem like such a bad thing." Louis said next to me, but I ignored him and looked out of the window. He waved the bag with my food in front of my face and I jumped. "FOOD!" I smiled happily and dug my hand into my bag. "Don't get my car messy!" Louis warned me, but I only stuck a hand of chips into my mouth and sighed happily. "I wasn't even aware of how much I was craving this." I told him before I took a big sip from my milkshake. "Ah, this is amazing." I took another handful of chips before we pulled into Louis' drive way.

I grabbed my bag with my clothes and my bag of food because I didn't really trust Louis with my food and he grabbed the drinks and his own bag of food. When we were safely inside, I quickly took off my jacket and my shoes and walked over to Louis' living room where I got comfortable on the floor in front of the TV, putting my food on the couch table, stretching my legs out in front of me. "Please make yourself at home." Louis said sarcastically, but followed my example and sat down next to me. "Thanks by the way for picking me up from work." I thanked him in between bites." He grinned down at me. "You are very much welcome, love." I took another sip from my milkshake. "This is sooooo good!" I exclaimed and Louis laughed at me. "Wanna try?" I offered him my milkshake. "He nodded and took a sip. "Not bad. Good choice, love." Smiling proudly, I finished off my burger.

"So, what would you like to do?" he asked me and I shrugged. "Dunno. I've always wanted to see what the fuzz about FIFA is all about, maybe you could teach me how to play?" I suggested and his face lit up like a kid on Christmas Day. "Are you serious?" he asked me and I nodded and laughed when he jumped to his feet. I finished my food and my milkshake and moved up to the sofa to be a bit more comfortable. Louis prepared his TV and then sat down next to me, handing me a controller. Then he proceeded to explain the game to me and a few minutes later we were already playing a match.

"Are you sure this is your first time playing this?" Louis asked me bewildered as I nearly scored a goal. I laughed at his puzzled expression and nodded. "It is. Maybe I'm just a natural talent." I flipped my hair over my shoulder. Louis scoffed and continued playing. In the end he won 3:2, which was an excellent score for someone who had never played before. Even Louis had to admit that. We both relaxed on the sofa, and Louis pulled me into him so that I was lying on my back, my head in his lap on a cushion.

I grinned up at him and he smiled down at me and gently pushed some loose strands of hair out of my face which always seemed to be there. He tapped my nose and I chuckled and puckered my lips at him, which made him chuckle in return. Then he started to massage my scalp and I closed my eyes and completely relaxed. "Wow, you're good at this." I said out loud and I felt him vibrate from silent laughter. I opened one eye and saw him looking down at me with a fond expression on his face. I closed my eye again and readjusted head which Louis make a weird noise and I grinned knowingly. "I'm being nice to you and this is how you repay me, love?" I opened my eyes again and faked an innocent look. "You can't fool me, Claire." I smirked up at him and then caught sight of the clock over the door. "Oh shit, is it already that late?" I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"I should really go, I have work again tomorrow morning." I said apologetically. Louis got up as well. "It's fine, love. I'm glad I could spend some quality time with you." I smiled at him while I collected my rubbish and he followed me into the kitchen where I threw it away. "Would you like a ride home?" he asked me and I nodded. "I hate asking you for another ride, but it's late and I know you won't let me take a bus or walk anyway." He grinned down at me. "You know me so well. Alright, let's get going then." He helped me into my jacket and after putting on a warm coat as well, we both quickly walked out to his car, trying to get in as fast as possible to avoid the freezing cold.

The drive to my house was short and we chatted for a bit more before Louis stopped in front of my front door. I took my seat belt off and leaned over for a short kiss. The kiss quickly turned into a three minute make-out session until we both pulled away, breathing heavily. "Are you sure you have to go?" he asked me and I pulled a face, but nodded. "I have to get up in six hours." Louis leaned in for one final kiss and a minute later I climbed out of the car. At my front door, I turned around one last time and saw Louis watching me from the car. I waved and he waved back before I closed the door behind me and quickly got ready for bed.

When I lay in bed, I remembered to send Harry a text and to text my dad who wasn't doing well at the moment. I had talked to him on Monday and he was getting some new drugs which were supposed to help him breath and with his muscles, but which made him feel very tired and exhausted. He didn't reply and I didn't expect him to. He would probably reply in the morning. I asked Harry how he was doing and he replied seconds later. "Hi love, already doing much better, but thank you for asking. Sleeping a lot has already helped me a big deal and I'll just try not to overwork myself for the next couple of weeks and then I should be good as new. ;) I hope your week is not too stressful. Remember, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you, love. Good night! H xxx" I smiled down at my phone and send him a good night text as well, before I turned my phone on silent and the lights out, falling asleep within seconds.


	40. The Date Or How We Went Ice Skating

Today was my date with Louis and I was freaking out. I still had two hours until he would pick me up at 7pm, but I was already pacing the room on the search for something to wear. Lily came home from her internship at the hospital and popped her head through the door. "Hi!" She looked around my room and grinned. "Need some help with picking out some clothes for Louis?" She wiggled her eyebrows and I stuck out my tongue at her, but nodded nevertheless. She flopped down on my bed and got comfortable. "How was work?" I asked her and she shrugged. "Same old, same old. People still ask me about Niall, but it's getting a little bit less already which is great." Her eyes lit up at the mention of Niall and I chuckled.

"Have you been online since Sunday?" I asked her and she shook her head. "Nope, not really. I made my twitter and Instagram private prior to the show and no one knows what my tumblr is, thank God for that, so they have no way of finding me there. "That's good to hear. I would hate to see you getting any hate." I told her. She sat up and looked over to my closet. "He is worth receiving some mean messages from some girls who are just jealous and immature enough to do something like that. Anyway, did Louis mention where you'll be going tonight?" I shook my head. "Nope, nothing. When I asked him what to wear he told just to wear whatever I'm comfortable in."

Lily pulled her phone out of her pocket and started typing something, while I continued looking at my clothes, hoping that something would just scream "Pick me!" at me. A minute later her phone beeped and her face broke into a wide grin. "Alright, after swearing that I wouldn't tell you, Louis told me where you'll be going so that I can help you dress appropriately." She hopped off my bed and strolled over to my closet. "Hmmmmmm... her skilled eyes wandered over my clothes until she picked out a pretty dark green jumper and a black skinny jeans. "You can wear your black boots and your cute dark red scarf with the reindeers on it with this. Oh and Harry's beanie. Or maybe not, considering where you're going." She chuckled and gave me a look which made me blush. "Some other beanie then. And your long grey coat."

I was so grateful for her help that I could have cried. Instead I decided to just give her a hug and she laughed and then instructed me to go to the bathroom to take a shower, promising me to help me with my hair and makeup afterwards. I thanked her and skipped into the bathroom, washing my hair twice, before I returned to my room again where Lily was already waiting for me. "Sit." She ordered and I did what she said, grateful for her offer. She curled my hair and made it look very nice and wavy and then applied some light makeup to my face, just enough to enhance my features, as she put it. When she was finished we only had ten minutes left and I felt like throwing up.

"Why are you so nervous about this?" Lily asked me with an amused smile. "Because I am going on a date with Louis Tomlinson of all people! This usually only happens in fanfics! Not to normal girls like me." I sat down on one of our kitchen chairs and gulped down the glass of water Lily had handed me. "Claire, you're gonna be completely fine. I know it's been a while since you went on a date, but this is Louis we're talking about. You have nothing to be worried about, okay? And even if it turns out that you two are better off as friends after all then consider is as hanging out with a good friend, okay? But give yourself a chance to be happy because that's all I want for you. And I don't care if it's with Louis or Harry because they're both amazing guys." She winked at me and I blushed.

The doorbell rang and I jumped in my seat. "I'm not here." But Lily only laughed and walked out of the kitchen to let Louis in. "Hi, love." I heard Louis' voice from the hallway and my heart started beating really fast when I heard his voice. I didn't even understand why I was so nervous about this. I had spent plenty of time with Louis, just the two of us, why should this be so different tonight? "You know why." said the voice at the back of my head and I tried to ignore it and got up to greet him.

His eyes widened when he saw me and he let them wander up and down my body until they stopped on my eyes. "You look beautiful, Claire." I blushed and Louis smirked a bit, obviously pleased that he had made me blush again. "I mean, not that you usually don't look beautiful, you know. You just look even better tonight." He rambled and I chuckled. "It's fine, I got what you wanted to say." I assured him and he looked relieved. "You don't look so shabby yourself, Tomlinson." He grinned and Lily cleared her throat which made us both look at her.

"If you hurt her in any way, Tomlinson, I will come after you and you will wish that you were never born." Louis gulped and she grinned, satisfied with his reaction. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and whispered "Be safe." in my ear before she waved a bit and went back into her room, humming No Control. Louis and I exchanged a look and started laughing. "She's serious, isn't she?" He asked me with concern in his voice and I nodded and grinned. "I'm afraid so." He held out my coat for me and I gratefully accepted his help before grabbing a beanie and my scarf and gloves.

When we sat in the car, he turned on the radio which was playing 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', the version Louis and his bandmates had helped recording the year before. We laughed, but then sang along to it. Well, Louis was singing along, I was more humming quietly. "How was it to record that song?" I asked him when the song had ended. He smiled over at me. "Amazing, really. To be in a room with some many incredibly talented people was great. I think everyone had a great time and we raised a lot of money which supported the victims and their families of the Ebola crisis." I nodded and looked out of the window to get a clue where we could be going, but it was already very dark so I didn't really have a chance.

"What is your favourite Christmas song?" Louis asked me and I thought about it for a moment. "I think it's either this song, but the old version, sorry, or 'Merry Xmas Everybody' by Slade." He seemed surprised. "Really? Why the second one?" he asked me and I grinned. "Why not? It's amazing!" He smirked at my excitement and then handed me his phone. "Then let's put it on." I cheered and eagerly took his phone. "What's your pin?" I asked him and looked up from the phone.

"Please don't laugh." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Before I tell you, I have to explain it first, alright?" I nodded and send him a questioning look. "Okay, so we all love to play pranks on each other from time to time and Liam and I had a bit of a prank war while we were on tour and this idiot stole my phone and changed my pin to Niall's birthday. It took me hours to figure that out." He pulled a face and I burst out laughing. "That's amazing, I'll have to congratulate Liam on that whenever I see him again." Louis glared at me, but had to admit that it was a good prank.

"Did you get your revenge?" I asked him and he smirked, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "I did. Can't tell you what I did, though. Liam had us promise to never tell a soul." I chuckled. "Then it must have been bad." I typed in Niall's birthday and was met with a background photo of me and him which someone must have taken during the album release party. I was obviously very drunk and I couldn't remember anyone taking any photos of me, but I was holding onto Louis and looked very drunk, but very happy. At the left side of the photo I could see some of Harry's curls.

Looking up, I saw that Louis was blushing a bit and I started grinning. "Are there any other photos of me on here that I should know about?" I asked him with a smirk and he shook his head. "Not that I know of, but I'm sure that this wasn't the only photo taken that night." I shuddered at the thought and then looked through Louis' phone. I was feeling very powerful with his phone in my hands. I could tweet anything right now, but of course I'd never do that. It was just nice to know that he trusted me that much. I opened Spotify and searched for Slade and a few seconds later, the song started playing. I danced in my seat and barely noticed when the car came to a stop. Louis watched me with an amused grin on his face until the song had finished. "We're here, love." 

I looked out of the window, but it was too dark to make anything out in the dark. We climbed out of the car and he took my hand into his, leading me inside the building, which seemed to be deserted. Then we walked around a corner and my jaw dropped. "You're taking me ice skating?" I asked him excitedly and he laughed and nodded. I pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. "I LOVE ice skating! Me and my dad always used to go when I was younger." I told him happily and bounced up and down.

Louis took my hand and let me over to where the skate rental was. The lady behind the counter smiled at us. "Good evening, Mr Tomlinson. Is everything alright for you two?" She gave me a kind smile which I returned. Next to me Louis nodded. "It's perfect, thank you. Could we get two pairs of skates, please?" After asking for our sizes she handed us both a pair of skates and we thanked her and walked over to the rink. We sat down and put or skates on and then Louis took my hand and carefully led me onto the ice. I took some hesitant steps, but my body seemed to remember what it had to do and I let go of Louis hand and did some spins and pirouettes.

Louis' jaw dropped and it took him a couple of seconds to recover from his shock. "When was the last time that you went ice skating, love?" I grinned at him and elegantly stopped in front of him. "Maybe ten years or so? Did I forget to mention that I used to take classes as a kid?" I smirked and Louis pouted. "And here I was, thinking I could show off." Chuckling, I patted his cheek and then took his hand into mine and we skated a bit together. Louis wasn't bad either and he helped me do some spins, or just enjoyed watching me do my stuff. We were both having a great time, occasionally sharing a kiss or two, but decided to call it a night after an hour and a half on the ice.

We returned our skates to the kind lady from earlier and thanked her again for letting Louis rent the place after opening hours on a Friday. She assured us that it wasn't any problem at all and then Louis guided me back towards where his car was parked. When we were both seated, he pulled out a bag from the back seats and handed me to plastic mugs and pulled out a thermos with hot cocoa in it and some cookies. I leaned over the gear shift and gave him a kiss. "I love you so much for this right now. This is the best date I've ever been on." He smiled widely at me and pulled me back in for another kiss. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." I reached over and squeezed his hand. "Very, very much."

He poured some cocoa into the two mugs and then opened the cookies. We sat in the car for another half an hour or so, enjoying each other's company and our hot cocoa and the cookies. When we had finished off our drinks, Louis drove me back home. The lights were on when we returned which meant that Lily was probably home. Louis turned off the engine, but we stayed in the car for another few minutes, none of us wanting to say goodbye. "I should probably get inside." I said quietly and he nodded. I leaned over and we shared a really sweet kiss, which quickly turned into a full make-out session which was only interrupted by the horn which I accidentally hit with my elbow.

We jumped apart and then started laughing when we realised who had made the noise. "I am so sorry." I giggled and Louis gently pushed a couple of strands out of my face underneath the beanie. "Don't worry about it, love." He started kissing my neck and I tried not to accidentally press the honk again, but my mind was occupied with more important things. One of his hands slipped underneath my jumper and I jumped a bit because of how cold it was and hit my head on the ceiling. I pulled away and rubbed my head. "Ouch."

Louis chuckled, but shot me a concerned look. "You alright, love?" I nodded and grinned sheepishly. "Your car probably just isn't a good make-out spot for me." I apologised and he smirked. "We could always move this inside." he suggested and after a moment of consideration I nodded. "Why the hell not, come on." His eyes widened in surprise and then his face split into a wide grin. We climbed out of his car and I quickly grabbed my purse from the backseat, before Louis intertwined our fingers and pulled me towards the house.

It wasn't that late, so I wasn't surprised when Lily stuck her head out of her door. "Back already?" she asked me and smirked when she saw Louis behind me. "Ah, I see." There was a shuffle and moment later, Niall's head poked through her door as well. "Hi, Claire, hi Lou." he greeted us. Lily blushed a bit and Louis chuckled. "Nialler, Lily." I waved a bit and then took off my shoes and let Louis help me out of my coat again. I threw a look into the mirror and saw that my cheeks were a little red and my lips slightly swollen. I was sure that Lily and Niall could put one and one together which made my blush even more.

Louis intertwined our fingers and pulled me into my room. Before he closed the door behind us, I could hear Niall shout "Be safe, mate! We don't want a little Louis running around yet!" followed by Lily's laughter. Louis shook his head and then turned around to face me. "Now, where were we?" I grinned and let him kiss me once more, letting his hands explore my body, while mine did the same. He pulled my big jumper off and I pulled off his hoodie as well, because it seemed to be getting quite hot very suddenly. Somehow we ended up on my bed with Louis lying next to me, gently drawing some patterns on my stomach. I smiled up at him and he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. "Have I told you how beautiful you are?" he asked me and I blushed deeply and tried to hide my face behind my hands. He gently pried my hands apart and I couldn't escape his blue eyes. "You really, really are beautiful, Claire, no matter what you might think of yourself." I blushed even deeper and he grinned a bit.

Getting a bit tired from a long day, I tried to hide a yawn, but Louis saw it. "Tired, hm?" I nodded. "Hmmmm, maybe a bit." He sat up and pulled me up with him. "Alright, then let's get you ready for bed." I reluctantly got up from my comfy bed and followed him towards our bathroom, where I lent him a spare toothbrush. The orange toothbrush reminded me of Harry's and Niall's discussion and I smiled a bit. After washing the makeup off my face, I shooed Louis out of the bathroom and quickly changed into a t-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts before I returned to my room.

Louis was already lying in my bed, grinning like a Cheshire cat and of course he was freaking shirtless again. I also suspected that he wasn't wearing anything but his boxer shorts underneath that blanket as well, considering the fact that he hadn't planned to spend the night. Well, maybe he had, I wasn't so sure about that when it came to Louis. I slipped underneath the warm duvet and snuggled into my pillow. His arm slipped around my waist and he pulled me into him, so that my back was pressed against him. I slightly turned my head to give him a goodnight kiss and then turned off the lights. "Sweet dreams, love." I heard Louis whisper into my ear and then I was out.


	41. Worrying Or How I Went Home Early

When I woke up the next morning, Louis' arms were still tightly wrapped around me and I snuggled deeper into him, just enjoying the warm and comfort that he provided. I could feel him stir in his sleep and his grip tightened a bit, making me smile. His eyelashes flattered and then I was met with a set of beautiful blue eyes. "Morning, love." he greeted me, his voice slightly hoarse. I smiled at him and he smiled back at me, simply enjoying this calm morning in bed.

My stomach grumbled, making Louis grin and me blush. "Let's go get some breakfast, love." I groaned and pulled the duvet over my head, not wanting to leave the warmth of my bed. I felt Louis move and a few seconds later, the duvet was pulled out of my hands, revealing a smirking Louis. "Louis! Give me my blanket back!" I protested, but he only grinned and put it at the other corner of my bed. I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest, bringing my knees to my chest. "Come on, love, I'll fetch you your dressing gown from the bathroom, alright?" I nodded, but didn't move and he chuckled and left the room, returning a couple of seconds later with my fluffy dressing gown which I quickly pulled over my t-shirt and shorts. Louis put on his clothes from the night before and then we both made our way to the kitchen.

We were greeted by a grinning Lily and Niall who both smirked when we entered the kitchen. "Morning, you lovely people." Niall greeted us cheerfully, making Louis smirk. "Did someone get some action last night?" he asked them with a smirk and Lily blushed deeply. "A gentleman never kisses and tells, Louis." Niall told him off, but added a wink in the end. "Sure, whatever you say, Nialler." Louis commented and walked over to the kettle to make us some tea. I sat down next to Lily who send me a questioning look. I shook my head and she nodded subtly, making this whole silent conversation go unnoticed by the boys. "Did ya have a good first date with this fellow here?" Niall asked me and nodded his head towards Louis. I pretended to have to think about it. "Well, you see..." I started with a wide grin and Louis' head whipped around, making me grin even wider. "It was actually really, really good. I beat him at ice skating and then we had some hot cocoa and cookies in his car before we ended up here." I told him and he send Louis an approving look. "Not bad for a first date, Tomlinson, not bad."

Louis grinned smugly and walked over to the table to sit down next to me. He handed me a cup of tea which I gratefully accepted and then pushed a bowl and a spoon in my direction, asking Lily to pass us the milk and the cereals. She handed me both and then got up to use the bathroom, returning a few minutes later. I stayed silent throughout the rest of the breakfast, just enjoying the other's company and my food, something that didn't go unnoticed by the others. "You okay, love?" Louis asked me quietly and I nodded. "Still a little bit tired, I guess." He didn't seem completely convinced, but dropped the subject. Lily shot me a questioning look as well, but I only shook my head, indicating that I didn't want to talk about it.

Truth to be told, I was very worried about my dad. I hadn't heard from him or my mum since Thursday morning and even though we hadn't texted that much during the past few months, I had made him promise me to send me daily updates and he hadn't texted me yesterday morning nor this morning. I decided to call him later that day when Louis was gone and then put on my best smile and tried to focus more on the conversation and even contributed a bit to the conversation as well.

After breakfast, Louis left quite fast, telling me that he needed to do some last minute Christmas shopping for his whole family. He would be going home tomorrow and before he left I handed him two wrapped gifts, one for his birthday and one for Christmas. "Now you're making me feel even worse because I still haven't bought anything for anyone. I'm not sure if I'll have time to drop by myself before I leave but you'll definitely get your present one way or another, love." I smiled up at him.

"Don't worry about it, Lou. You didn't really have time for anything during the past few weeks and you really don't have to get me anything, just because I got you something." I blushed a bit and he cupped my cheeks with his hands. "I am not sure how many times I have to tell you this in order for you to get it into your beautiful head, love, but you are important to me, okay? And people who are very important to me definitely get a Christmas gift, no matter if they give me one in return or not, okay?" I nodded and he pulled me in for a kiss. "I'll be back for New Year's." he told me quietly and gave me one last kiss, before I was left in the doorway in my pyjamas, watching him disappear in the stairwell.

After Louis had left, I changed into a pair of leggings and an over-sized hoodie and decided to wrap my last Christmas gifts, before I gave my dad a ring. I had bought something for my parents, my grandma, Lily and Harry and Louis as well. The gifts weren't anything special, but I loved giving gifts to people and making people happy, so for me it was more the thought that counted, rather than a very expensive gift which I couldn't afford anyway. I had put a lot of thought into each present and hoped everyone liked them.

When I was finished, I sat down on my bed and dialled my parents' home number. It rang a few times before my mother picked up. "Winters?" I smiled when I heard her voice. "Hi mum." "Claire, honey! It's good to hear your voice, darling! How are you doing? We both can't wait to see you again in three days!" I chuckled. "I'm doing fine, mum, thank you. And of course I am looking forward to seeing you, too. I am actually calling to ask how dad's doing." I said hesitantly and I heard her sigh. There was a shuffle and I heard a door close before she spoke again. "To be completely honest with, he isn't doing that well at the moment. He constantly needs oxygen because his lungs aren't functioning properly at the moment and he gets exhausted very easily. I think your visit and the upcoming holiday are all that keeps him going at the moment." I felt like someone had punched me into my stomach. I took a deep breath and tried to hold back my tears because I didn't want my mum to know how upset I was.

"Claire, are you still there, honey?" I swallowed and cleared my throat. "I am, yes, sorry. Is there anything I can do? Any doctor or therapy who could help him in any way?" I asked her, desperate for any kind of solution that would make my dad feel better again. "The doctors are trying their best, Claire, but his muscles are becoming weaker and weaker every day and there isn't really anything they can do about it." My mum's voice was shaky and I felt so bad for not being able to be there for her in person. "Mum, listen, should I come earlier? I could be there by tonight. I just need to drop off one Christmas present for a friend first." I immediately offered her.

"Are you sure, love? That would mean the world to me and especially your dad. It will be a nice surprise for him." I could hear the relief in her voice. "I will be there for dinner tonight, okay?" I assured her and added a "Stay strong." in the end. "Thank you, Claire, I can't wait to see you again tonight. I love you." I smiled at bit and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. "I love you, too, mum. I'll see you later, okay?" We said our goodbyes and as soon as I had hung up, I started organising and packing. It was like I was in some sort of trance. This couldn't be happening. My dad wasn't dying. He was my dad, he wasn't allowed to die.

I walked over to Lily's door with her Christmas present in my hands and knocked. When she opened her door, her eyes widened when she saw my face. "Oh my God, Claire. Are you okay? You look awful." She pulled me into a hug and I fought back my tears. "I'm fine." I tried to assure her, but she knew me better than anyone else and didn't buy my lie. "Bullshit, Claire, what's wrong." I swallowed. "I'm going home today, I just wanted to say goodbye. My dad isn't doing well at the moment and my mum really needs me right now." I explained to her. A shadow crossed her face and she pulled me into another hug. "I am so sorry, Claire. If you need anything, I'm just a phone call away, alright? I know we'll be spending Christmas over in the States, but if anything happens, I'll be on the first plane back to England, okay?" I nodded and quickly handed her my present. She disappeared into her room for a few seconds before she returned with a small, beautifully wrapped gift for me.

Niall had come over to the door as well and immediately pulled me into a hug when he saw me. "Hey, love, you'll be okay. Whatever is going on, you'll be okay, alright?." I nodded against his chest and he let go of me. He send Lily a questioning look which I didn't miss, but she subtly shook her head. "You can tell him, Lil, but only after I'm gone, okay?" She nodded and then helped me into my coat. She and Niall walked me to the bus which would take me to Harry, Niall carrying my suitcase for me. They both gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and then I was on my way to deliver my last Christmas present before going home.


	42. The Break Down Or How I Don't Deserve Harry Styles In My Life

I walked up the pathway to Harry's door and rang his doorbell, praying that he was home. After a few seconds, the door opened revealing a slightly confused Harry. His confusion turned into worry as soon as he saw my face. "Claire?" I managed to bring out a hoarse "Hi." before I burst into tears. Harry instantly pulled me into his arms and just held me while I cried. "Hey, you're okay, you're okay. I'm here." He stroked my hair and whispered soothing words into my ear while I held onto him as if I was drowning and he was my lifeline. "Shhhhhh, it's okay. Just let it all out." After two minutes or so, he let go off me a bit and quickly carried my suitcase into his house, before he pulled me in as well and closed the door behind us. He carefully helped me out of my coat and simply threw it over my suitcase, before he pulled me into him again. I couldn't stop crying the entire time and he seemed to be seriously worried about me.

He gently put my arms around his neck, lifted me up and carefully carried me into the living room where he sat down with me in his lab. He just held me and rubbed my back while I let out all of the built up tension and tears. After a few minutes I felt like I couldn't cry anymore and just leaned my head against Harry's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. "Thank you." I managed to croak out and he gave me a light kiss on my head. "Any time, Claire, any time. I am so sorry that you're so upset. If you want to talk about it or if there's anything I can do for you, please let me know." I nodded again.

"I'm sorry for ruining your shirt." I apologised quietly and felt his chest vibrate. "Please don't worry about my shirt, love. It was only Gucci, I am sure they will be happy to give me another one if I ask them." He chuckled. "Only you would worry about a shirt after breaking down completely." I blushed a bit and was glad that he couldn't see my face. I took a deep breath. "It's my dad. He... he isn't doing well and my mum's very worried about him and there isn't much that the doctors can do to help him, you know?" I felt Harry's grip tighten around me. "I am so sorry to hear that. Is there anything that can be done? That I can do? Do you need any money for a special treatment or something like that?"

I shook my head. "We kind of knew that this would come one day, but no one thought that it would come by so fast." I voice broke at the end of the sentence. "It's just... I can't lose my dad, Harry. Not yet anyway. He was supposed to see me get married, meet his grandchildren, grow old with my mum." I took a shaky breath and felt Harry's hands gently stroking my back again. "I wish I could help you in any way." he admitted quietly and I pulled away a bit and looked up at him. "You already are." I told him with a hint of a smile. He smiled down at me and gently pressed a kiss to my forehead, before I snuggled back into him.

"I originally just came to bring you your Christmas present." I told him. "You know, before I started crying and all of that." There was a short silence and when he spoke again I could hear the smile in his voice. "Really? I was planning on giving you yours tomorrow before I go home." I looked up. "Really?" He nodded and grinned down at me. "Are you going home today then?" he asked me and I nodded again. "Yes, my mum needs me and so does my dad. I'm taking the train around 5pm." Harry looked towards his clock and then frowned. "Are you sure you want to take the train? I could give you a ride home and then drive home myself. I am sure my mum wouldn't mind if I came a little earlier." he suggested, but I shook his head.

"I live in a completely different part of England, Harry, that's rubbish. You would have to drive Hunstanton and then another three and a half hours to Holmes Chapel. As much as I would love to say yes, I cannot ask that from you. But thank you for the offer." He frowned and thought for a moment. "How about this: I drive you home tonight, stay for dinner and then leave afterwards? I would love to see your parents again. I mean only of course, if that's okay with you and your parents." He quickly added. I was tempted. It would be amazing not to have to take the train home. I decided to ask my parents first. "Could I maybe use your phone and ask my mum if she would be okay with you coming as well, even if it's just for dinner?" I asked him and his eyes lit up and he nodded. "Absolutely, just let me get my phone really quickly." I slid of his lab and thanked him quietly.

He returned after a few seconds and handed me his phone. "Here you go love." I dialled my parents' number for the second time that day and waited until my mum picked up the phone. "Winters, hello." I smiled a bit when I heard her voice. She sounded a lot happier than this morning. "Hi, mum, it's me again." Harry sat back down next to me and intertwined our fingers, giving my hand a light squeeze. "Claire, is everything alright, love? You sound like you cried." I silently cursed my mum for knowing me so well. "I'm fine mum, really. I, um, I was wondering if you would mind if Harry came over for dinner as well? He offered to drive me home before driving home himself, but lives all the way over in Holmes Chapel and I at least wanted to offer him dinner if he insists on driving me."

I looked over to Harry who gave me an encouraging smile. "Harry? The gorgeous young man that you brought to Izzie's wedding?" I was suddenly very happy that Harry could only hear my part of the conversation. "Yes, that Harry. How many guys named Harry who would offer to drive me home do I know?" I chuckled and Harry smirked next to me. "I was just asking, honey. Of course he can stay for dinner. But isn't it a bit too late to drive all through the night to Holmes Chapel? He could stay the night and then drive home tomorrow morning if he likes. Would you mind passing him the phone, please?" I hesitantly held the phone out to Harry who smiled widely and then put the phone to his ear.

"Martha, hi, how are you?" I watched him talk to my mum on the phone, trying to figure out what she was saying. "Of course not." he said and threw me an amused look. "Please, I don't want to be a burden." He blushed a bit and then smirked. I was about to take the phone away from him when he started laughing. "Yes, I've noticed that as well. Thank you for your kind hospitality. I am looking forward to seeing you again tonight." He held out the phone and I shot him a look and hesitantly brought the phone up to my ear. "Mum?"

There was a shuffle at the other end. "Claire, darling, how did you befriend such an amazing guy, love? Where did you find him?" I chuckled. "I'll tell you about that when he's not sitting next to me, okay?" Harry's head shot up and I grinned. "I'll hold you to that. I am glad that you don't have to take the train home, honey. I am really looking forward to seeing you soon." I smiled widely. "I can't wait to see you either, love you. Bye." After she had said goodbye, I hung up and put the phone down on the couch table.

"Do I even want to know what you two talked about?" I asked Harry and he chuckled. "Probably not. Do I want to know what you'll tell her when I am not listening?" I grinned and smirked at him. "Probably not." His grin widened and he gently pushed a loose strand of hair out of my face. "Alright, I'll have to finish packing really quickly. Are you okay to wait here for a couple of minutes until I'm back?" I nodded and he quickly left the room to finish packing, while I sat in the living room, wondering what I had done to deserve Harry Styles in my life.


	43. Too Much Food Or How Harry Found Out I That I Write

The drive up to Hunstanton was about three hours so we left rather quickly after Harry had finished his packing. It was bitter cold outside and Harry turned on the heating as soon as we were in the car. We drove in silence for a bit, the only sound coming from the cars outside and the radio which was quietly playing in the background. It was quiet and peaceful and exactly what I needed today.

"Thank you so much for doing this." I thanked him quietly and looked over to him. He took his eyes from the road for a second and smiled at me. "No need to thank me, love. That's what friends are for, right?" I shot him a thankful look and then continued looking outside into the dark. It was only mid-afternoon, but the shortest day of the year was approaching and the days were shorter than ever. We stopped once to use the bathroom and were stuck in traffic for a bit, but we made it to my parents' house by a quarter to seven which was a lot earlier than I could have made it by train.

We got out of the car and I was suddenly a bit nervous. For starters, I was about to show Harry where I grew up and where I spent my entire childhood. Secondly, I was unsure about what my dad's reaction would be towards Harry being here. And thirdly, and most importantly, I was scared to see my dad. Until now I had been able to pretend that I was just imagining things, but standing here in front of my parents' house I had to come to terms with the fact that this could very well be my dad's last Christmas. I took a deep, shaky breath and felt Harry's hand slip into mine, giving it a light squeeze. "Hey, I'm here for you. You're not alone, okay? Let's get our stuff inside and say hello to your parents." I looked up at him and he gave me an encouraging smile, before he let go off my hand to carry his overnight bag and my massive suitcase up the path to our front door. Hesitantly, I followed him and then slowly raised my hand up and rang the doorbell.

The kitchen window was a bit open so we could both hear my parents inside the house. "Richard, would you mind opening the door for me, please? I'm fighting with the dinner." My mum's voice could be heard through the open window. My dad replied something which we couldn't understand outside and a few seconds later, the door opened. I had never seen my dad so happy. His tired looking eyes were glowing and his face spread into a wide smile. "Claire! What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't come for another two days!" I was pulled down into a hug, trying not to tangle up the oxygen cable which was attached to the tube in his nose. "I missed you too much to wait another two days." I told him and carefully pulled away and gestured towards Harry. "Harry drove me here, mum invited him to stay the night."

My dad only then seemed to notice Harry standing in the door way behind me. "Harry, my boy, good to see you, lad!" They shook hands and I carefully closed the door behind us. When I turned around again, my mum was standing in the kitchen door, a wide smile on her kind face and tears in her eyes. She opened her arms and pulled me into a tight hug which lasted a couple of seconds, before she pulled away and quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm so glad that you're here now." she told me quietly, before she spotted Harry.

"Harry, love, come here. Let me look at you. Wow, your hair has gotten even longer since the last time I saw you." Harry chuckled and I blushed. "Mum!" She winked at me and pulled Harry into a short hug, which he returned. "Now, let's get you two settled in. Claire, I prepared your old bedroom upstairs for you two, unfortunately we don't have a guestroom, Harry, but Claire's bed should be big enough for the two of you. Richard is sleeping in the living room at the moment, otherwise I would have offered you to sleep there." She let us up the stairs to my old bed room, while Harry assured her that he was perfectly fine with sharing a bed with me and that she please shouldn't worry about him.

My mum opened my door and we stepped inside, Harry's eyes immediately wandering over the photos on the walls and the lyrics and poems I had hung up. You couldn't really see much of the wall except for one long side on which Lily had drawn the lyrics to Little Things, Niall's part to be exact. My mum broke the silence first. "I'll leave you two for a bit, dinner should be ready within the next twenty minutes." We both thanked her and then she hurried out of the room and quietly closed the door behind her.

"You have a great room." Harry complimented me, while he stepped a bit closer to my wall to get a better look at the photos and lyrics. "Thanks." I said quietly, trying to process the fact that Harry Styles was standing in my old bedroom, looking at the photos which I had collected during my childhood and especially my teenage years. He stopped in his tracks and took a closer look at a piece of paper which was in the middle of a black and white collage. "I've never heard of this song before, but the lyrics are great. Who wrote this?" he asked me and turned around. I didn't dare to look him in the eyes when I answered him. "I did."

His eyes widened. "YOU wrote this?" I nodded and dared to look up again when I heard the amazement in his voice. "Why did you never tell me that you're a bloody talented songwriter, love?" He looked back towards the lyrics and then turned his head back to face me. I shrugged. "I don't know. I just never thought that it's any good, I guess. I just write for myself, the only people who has ever seen most of my songs is Lily and even she hasn't actually heard any of them." With two big steps he was in front of me. "Listen, love, this song, it's amazing. I haven't even heard the melody yet, but I can already tell from the lyrics and the chords that it probably sounds amazing." he complimented me and I blushed deeply and looked down at my hands.

"Will you play it for me some time?" Harry asked me and my head snapped up, my eyes wide. "Play you my song?" I clarified. He nodded and I gulped. "I, I don't know if I can do that. I've never performed any of my songs to anyone and you are a worldwide known singer and songwriter." He smiled down at me. "Look, I am not asking you to play this for me right now, just maybe one day? Please?" he pleaded and when I agreed hesitantly and his eyes lit up. "Thank you, love." He returned looking at the photos, lyrics and poems on my walls, occasionally asking me something or commenting on a particularly funny photo, until my mum called us for dinner.

I took Harry's hand and pulled him away from the photos and out of my room, following the delicious smell of my mum's food into the living room where the big dining table was set. My mum had set up Christmas decorations all over the house, mixing up British and Scandinavian decorations in a very unique style. Harry looked around the living room, taking the decorations and our living room in. "I love the mix out of Scandinavian and British decorations, Martha." he complimented my mother who blushed a bit and smiled happily. "Thank you, my dear, I am Swedish and I never could let go entirely of my roots, I guess." She gestured to the table which was overloaded with different dishes. "Please, sit down."

Harry sat down after pulling out a chair for me and then my mum first. "I never would have guessed that you're Swedish, Martha. You don't have an accent at all." he told her. My father rolled over to the table and squeezed his wife's hand. "I stole her from them right after she graduated school." My mum started handing around bowls with vegetables and everyone happily helped themselves. "This looks fantastic." Harry complimented her and I nodded. "Thank you for cooking my favourite dinner tonight, mum." She beamed at us and blushed a little bit. "You are very welcome, my loves, and now dig in." We all laughed and started eating.

Throughout the meal, the conversation was light and everyone joked around with each other, as if Harry had been part of our family for a long time. "So, do you speak any Swedish then, Claire?" Harry turned to me and I blushed a bit, but nodded. "I understand Swedish, but I can't really speak it that well anymore. My Swedish grandparents passed away a couple of years ago and I haven't really had a lot of chances to practice it." I admitted sheepishly and my mum send me a stern look. "I should start only talking in Swedish to you then." My dad laughed and sent Harry a conspiratorial glance. "Now they're teaming up on us again, help!" Harry's eyes were twinkling with amusement. "We men will stick together, Richard, don't worry. I'll stay by your side." My dad clapped him on the shoulder and took another bite from his fish. "You're a good chap, Harry." Harry grinned and helped himself to some more potatoes. "Thanks, Richard, so are you."

My mum and I exchanged a look and then she got up to see how the desert was doing. I felt Harry's hand lightly squeeze my knee underneath the table and looked up at him. He send me a questioning glance and I gave him subtle nod and lightly squeezed his hand underneath the table, before quickly pulling my hand back as my mum returned to the living room. "Anyone got some space for desert left?" she asked with a smile and even though I was completely full, I happily nodded. "If it's as good as the rest of the meal I won't say no to that." Harry admitted and my mum put an extra-large portion on his plate which he eyed happily, before giving it a try. "This is amazing, Martha!" he told her after he had swallowed. My mum patted his arm and beamed up at him. "Thanks, love, I am glad you enjoy it so much."

After dinner, Harry and I helped my mum with the dishes, while my dad rested for a bit on the sofa. My mum made some tea for everyone, while Harry and I dried the dishes, before we returned to the living room. My dad was sitting in his old rocking chair with a blanket over his legs and my mum said down in the cosy armchair by the fire, which only left the sofa for me and Harry. We sat down and enjoyed our tea, looking into the crackling fire, chatting a bit. Harry had put his arm over the back of the sofa and my head was slowly, but surely leaning more and more on his shoulder. I tried to hide my yawn, but after a few minutes everyone else was yawning as well and we laughed and decided to call it a night.

"Thank you so much for the delicious dinner and for having me here." Harry thanked my parents again, before I kissed both of them good night and went upstairs with Harry. He plopped down on my bed, his hands covering his stomach. "I am so full." I chuckled and walked over to my suitcase to get a pair of pyjamas and my things for the bathroom. "I'll be back in a minute." I told him, but only got a hum in response. He was lying on his back, now all limps stretched out, his eyes closed and his hair spread out around his head like a halo.

Chuckling to myself, I quickly made my way towards the small bathroom, which was the only other room upstairs, and got changed into a pair of pyjamas. While I was brushing my teeth, Harry knocked on the door and I gestured for him to come in as well. We brushed our teeth together and then I left him alone to get changed as well. I crawled into my bed and checked my phone which showed two missed calls and a text from Louis and one from Lily, as well. I quickly opened the one from Louis. "Hey love, just stopped by your flat to give you your Christmas present, but Lily explained the whole situation to me and I now posted it via Express Courier, so it should arrive the day after tomorrow at your parents' house. Please tell me if there is anything I can help you with or anything I could do for your dad. Lily also told me that Harry offered to drive you, so I hope you arrived safely at your parents'. I'll let you know when I'm safely at my mum's place tomorrow. Love you, Louis xxx"

I starred at the last three words for at least a minute before I typed a reply. "Hi, Lou, I am so sorry for not replying any sooner. We sat together with my parents until now. My mum insisted on Harry spending the night because she didn't want him to drive through the night. Thank you for posting my gift, you really didn't have to do that, so thank you. I'll let you know if you can help in anyway, just being there for me and offering your help already means a lot to me. Sweet dreams and a safe drive tomorrow! Claire xxx" I couldn't bring myself to type these three words as well. I wasn't there yet and it felt wrong to write them if I didn't really mean them. I quickly replied to Lily's text, assuring her that I wasn't angry at her for telling Louis and letting her know that we arrived safely in Hunstanton.

Then I turned my phone off and snuggled deeper into the fluffy duvet. The door opened and Harry strolled into the room, only wearing a pair of pyjama pants which were hanging dangerously low on his hips. I tried to keep my eyes fixed on his face and he smirked, obviously very much aware of the affect he was having on me. Nothing was said while he put his clothes down and slowly walked over to the bed, his eyes never leaving mine. 

He slipped underneath the blanket and turned onto his side so that he was looking at me. "Are you feeling a little bit better now?" he asked me and I nodded, but I felt my eyes tearing up again. He lifted his arm a bit. "Hug?" I gratefully accepted the offer and he pulled me into his chest, turning slightly to turn off the lights. Listening to his steady heartbeat, I calmed down again and heard him quietly hum 'Little Things' into my ear to calm me down. When he had finished, he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead and pulled the duvet tighter around us. "Good night, love." I smiled into his chest, silently thanking the Lord that I had such a good friend by my side. "Good night, Harry."


	44. Favourite Girl Or How Harry Gives The Best Advice

I woke up in the early hours of the morning. Carefully, I slid out of Harry's tight embrace and checked my alarm clock for the time. It was four o'clock in the morning, but I was wide awake. As quietly as possible, I sneaked out of the room and gently closed the door behind me. I shivered a bit without the warmth of Harry's body and the warm duvet around me and walked down the stairs towards the kitchen, trying not to make any noise to wake up my parents. In the kitchen, I decided to make myself a cup of tea and filled the kettle with some water. While I was waiting for the water to boil, I looked outside of the window into the dark of the night, trying to get to terms with everything that was happening in my life right now. After I had prepared my tea, I sat down at the kitchen table and slowly sipped on my tea, completely lost in my thoughts.

"You look like you're thinking about the meaning of life or something like that." came Harry's voice from the kitchen door and I jumped, nearly dropping my mug in the process. "Harry!" I whisper shouted and he grinned at me, amused about my reaction. "Claire!" he mimicked me. My maturity was showing because the first thing that popped into my mind was "Donkey!" I really needed to watch Shrek again. I chuckled to myself and Harry sent me a funny look.

After closing the kitchen door behind him, he walked over to me and sat down. "Why are you up at this hour?" he quietly asked me and I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind. What about you?" I saw something change in his eyes and he opened his mouth to say something, but then changed his mind and closed it again. After a moment he sent me a cheeky grin. "You know, my favourite girl wasn't lying next to me when I woke up, so I had to get up and see where she run off to."

I blushed a bit and he grinned, his eyes twinkling. "I am hardly your favourite girl, Styles. You have so many more beautiful and attractive girls that you are friends with that would definitely be the better option for that position." I told him and he frowned. "Claire, I don't know what happened to you that makes you think so low of yourself, but just to let you know you are one of the top candidates for the position." He winked at me and I covered my cheeks, feeling my cheeks burning up underneath my fingers. He gently loosened my grip and pulled my hands off my face. "Please don't hide from me, love." That didn't really help my blush. However, I couldn't stop myself from asking the obvious follow up question to his words. "Who are the other candidates then?" I asked him and raised an eyebrow.

He smirked at me and instantly wanted to slap myself for asking this question. "Are you jealous, love?" he asked me and vigorously shook my head. "Of course not! Just wondering, that's all. I know that I'm Louis' number one." I added with a grin and a hurt look flashed over Harry's face, but it was gone so fast that I wasn't even sure it had been there at all. He gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I am sure you are, love. Speaking of, didn't he take you on a date on Friday?" he asked me and I smiled widely. "He did. He took me ice skating just like my dad used to when we were younger. It was so much fun! I even could show off a little bit." I smiled at him and this time he gave me a real smile in return. "I'm glad you had such a good time. Do you think you guys will go on a second date?" I shrugged. "That depends on whether he likes me enough to ask me out again. But after the text the text he sent me last night, I am pretty sure that we'll go out again."

Harry looked confused. "What text?" I mentally slapped myself and tried to come with something. "Oh, just asking me if I was okay and telling me that he posted my Christmas gift." Harry visibly relaxed and absentmindedly reached forward to gently push some loose strands of hair out of my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek. "Do you think it's too early to write "Love you" in a text when you have, well, known each other for only four months and only been on one date?" I blurted out and Harry pulled away. "Are we speaking hypothetically or did something happen?" Biting my lip, I contemplated telling him about Louis' text. I really needed some guy advice on how to handle the situation but I wasn't sure if Harry was the right person to talk to. Knowing that I wouldn't sleep if I didn't solve the problem I decided to tell him.

"Louis added a "Love you." at the end of his last text and I don't know if it's simply a "love you" or if it's an "I love you" and I am kind of freaking out about this." I explained to him. Harry's face was unreadable and I couldn't tell what he was thinking at all. "Well, I obviously can't speak for Louis here, but I think he really likes you and I think he doesn't like the fact that I am here with you supporting you and not him." Harry carefully explained and my eyes widened. "You mean he is jealous?" I asked him. Harry nodded. I instantly feeling guilty for being so careless and not thinking about how Louis would feel about Harry being here. I just really needed someone and Harry was just there when I was breaking down. There was a short silence and I felt Harry's gaze on me. "Do you, do you like him back?" he asked hesitantly and his tone made me look up at him. His jaw was tense and his eyes seemed greener than ever.

I thought about his question for a couple of seconds. "I... I like Louis, I really do. He is the second guy ever to ask me out and I still don't even get why. He is this amazing guy and I am just me, you know? I just don't see it. But as I said, I really like him and I could picture myself in a relationship with him, but I am not sure if I am at the 'love stage' yet." I admitted and Harry nodded and cleared his throat. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. Louis deserves an amazing girl like you and you deserve someone like him in your life. You seem to be really good for each other. You look a lot happier now than when I met you four months ago." he lightly squeezed my small hand with his big one. "Well, now I have this weirdo in my life who has been this amazing friend to me since the day I met him." I said with a smile and his eyes lit up a bit. "You know I'll always be there for you, Claire, no matter what, right?" I nodded and quickly looked away, trying to blink the tears away that were threatening to spill over.

A chair was pushed back and a few second later I was pulled into a hug. I relaxed into his embrace and enjoyed the feeling of his smooth warm skin underneath my hands and against my cheek. "Why does my life has to be so complicated, Harry?" I asked into his chest and I felt him press a light kiss to my hair before he replied. "Maybe because life is never easy and if it's too easy you are not really living. Life is about the good stuff and the bad stuff and no one can really choose what will happen in their life. But we can appreciate the good things we have in our lives, like a loving family, supportive friends, the important things in life, you know? Because it is that good stuff that helps you through the most difficult times of your life. And you might be going through a difficult time right now, especially with everything that's going on with your dad, but you have Lily and Niall, and Liam as well, and you have two loving parents and Louis who is smitten with you and you have me, okay? We are here for you, Claire, no matter what happens and we are not going anywhere. Not even your dad, because even if he doesn't live long enough to walk you down the aisle one day or to meet his grandchildren you will always find him right here."

He pulled away a little bit and put his hand right over my heart. The gesture didn't have anything sexual about it, but it was a gesture of comfort and by the end of his beautiful speech I had tears in my eyes. "You are one of the most amazing people I have ever met." I told him and looked up to him. "Thank you." I tried to put everything I felt into this thank you and I think Harry had noticed that because he pulled me into another hug, his arms wrapped securely around me, as if he wanted to shield me from all of the bad stuff in the world. He just held me for a couple of minutes, none of us wanting to let go.

"Do you think you could try to sleep for a bit longer?" Harry asked me quietly and I nodded, pulling away from him. I put my empty mug into the sink and took Harry's outstretched hand, letting him guide me upstairs and back into my bed. He pulled me into him and I closed my eyes, fast asleep in a matter of seconds, feeling completely save and protected in his strong arms. Unknown to me, Harry didn't fall asleep straight away. Instead he watched the sleeping girl in his arms, trying to save this moment for the future because he wasn't sure if he would be able to hold her like that again any time soon. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, a small smile appearing on her face and he froze, but she didn't wake up. Pulling the duvet closer around the two of them, he snuggled deeper into the pillow and closed his eyes. A few seconds later he was fast asleep.


	45. Promises Or How Claire Caught Me Starring At Her Again (Harry's POV)

Harry's POV:

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I saw that Claire was still fast asleep in my arms. She looked so beautiful and peaceful as if nothing could harm her in anyway. I wish life really was like that sometimes. I gently pushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face, careful not to wake her up. She stirred in her sleep, a slight frown on her face and I quickly pulled back. Her eyelashes fluttered and then I was met with a pair of beautiful green eyes. "Morning, love." I greeted her and she smiled at me. "Morning." she yawned and stretched her arms above her head, making me chuckle.

"I don't want to get up." she groaned and pulled the duvet over her head. I poked my head underneath the blanket as well. "I'm afraid we can't stay in here forever, love." I said with a grin and she stuck her tongue out and pushed the duvet back, sitting up in the process. She looked cute in the mornings with her hair sticking up into the air, her face without a trace of makeup which she didn't really need anyway, and her eyes still a little red from the sleep. She cleared her throat and I realised that I had been starring at her. "Is there something on my face?" she asked with a hint of concern in her voice, her hands wiping over her face, and I immediately shook my head. "No, no, you look fine. I just thought how beautiful you are." I explained and she blushed deeply. I didn't understand how she didn't see how beautiful she really was.

"Thanks." she said quietly and I raised an eyebrow at her. "Claire Winters is actually accepting a compliment? What's happening to the world?" I asked her teasingly and she rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got up, only to stumble into her chest of drawers a second later. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing and tried to look as innocent as possible. Claire slowly turned her head around to look at me with a stern look on her face. "Don't." she told me with a look which told me to shut up. I held my hands up in defense and leaned back into the comfy pile of pillows, silently watching her gather together her things.

"You are starring again." came Claire's muffled voice from the inside of her closet where she was searching for something. I grinned to myself and admired her butt which she was presenting to me at the moment. "Just admiring the view. And you can't say that for sure, love. You have your head stuck in a closet and as far as I am aware you don't have any eyes at the back of your head." She emerged from the inside of her closet and glared at me, but her eyes were twinkling with amusement so I knew that she wasn't seriously mad at me. "I felt your eyes on my butt, Styles and don't even try to deny it, your face gives it all away." I smirked at her and send her a cheeky grin. "In my defense, I am a man and you have an exceptionally well formed bum, Ms Winters." She shook her head at me and then took her things and left the room to take a shower, leaving me behind in her old bedroom.

After I had taken a quick shower as well, we both went downstairs where her parents were already sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. Martha jumped up as soon as she saw us and scurried over to the kettle to make us some tea. "Morning, mum, morning, dad." Claire greeted her parents and gave her father a kiss on the cheek whose whole face lit up at this gesture. I greeted him as well and then walked over to Martha. "Morning, love." she greeted me and I smiled at her. "Good morning. Here, let me do this. You go and sit back down and enjoy your breakfast, alright?" She shook her head, reminding me a lot of Claire when she was trying to stop me from spending money on her. "No, no, no, no. You are the guest, Harry!" she protested. I gently pushed her out of the way and guided her back towards the kitchen table, pulling out the chair for her. Richard shot me an approving look and Claire smiled at me and walked over to help me.

Together, we prepared some tea and toast, before we joined her parents at the table. "So, Harry, what are your plans now, after your last performance? Any plans on how to spend the big amount of spare time?" Claire's dad asked me and I took a bite from my toast before I replied. "Well, during the next few weeks I am just gonna relax a bit, spend some quality time with my family, catch up with some friends, here in England and in LA and I have been auditioning for a film directed by Christopher Nolan, so we'll see how that goes." Richard sent me an approving look. "Christopher Nolan, you're saying?" I nodded and Claire lightly squeezed my knee underneath the table, making me smile down at her before I turned back to her dad.

"Yes, he's doing a movie about the Dunkirk evacuation during the end of World War Two. Not only is the topic very interesting, but he has also has some first class actors already who are gonna be part of this movie and I would be honoured to get a chance to try acting under his trained eyes." Martha gave me an encouraging smile. "I'm sure you'd be great, Harry." she complimented me . I returned her smile and thanked her. "Well let's just hope your acting has improved since iCarly." Claire dryly commented next to me and I felt my cheeks heat up." Her parents exchanged confused looks. "iCarly?" her mum asked and Claire smirked. "It was a show on Nickelodeon back in 2012 and the episode was hilarious. I'll show it to you sometime if you like to." she offered with smirk in my direction and I glared at her, but she didn't seem too bothered about it. "It's really not worth watching." I assured them and then quickly tried to change the topic.

The rest of the breakfast was spent with light conversation until we were all finished. I got up to help her mum do the dishes, but her dad put a hand on my arm. "Harry, would you mind if I talked to you for a second?" Claire shot me a confused look, but gave me an encouraging nod. "Um, sure." I agreed and followed him out of the kitchen. He wheeled himself into the living room and closed the door behind us. "Please, have a seat." He gestured towards the arm chair next to the big window from which you had a beautiful view on the garden. I hesitantly sat down and he positioned himself opposite me.

"Don't look so scared, I am not here to tell you off for something." he chuckled and I smiled a bit, still confused why he wanted to talk to me. "I wanted to talk to you about Claire." My heart started to beat a bit faster and my palms got all sweaty. "I have the understanding that she is kind of dating one of your bandmates?" he asked me and I nodded. "Is he a good guy? Will he look after my girl when I'm gone?" he asked me seriously and I nodded immediately. "Louis is a great guy. When he really likes someone he will do anything for that person. He always stands up for his loved ones." I assured him and he seemed a bit relieved. "I am sorry for asking you like that, but I know that I haven't got much time left and I don't think that I'll get the chance to meet him and I want to know that my daughter is in good hands after that boy completely destroyed her two years ago." I frowned a bit. "That boy?" I asked, confusion obviously written all over my face.

"Oh, she hasn't told you about Sam yet?" I shook my head. "No, what did he do?" Richard swiftly told me the story of how Claire and Sam had met and that he always had had a bad feeling about Sam but didn't say anything for his daughter's sake and how Sam had then completely embarrassed her in front of the whole school, making himself look like the good guy. By the end of the story I was fuming with anger. "No wonder that she is behaving the way she is, having a hard time accepting compliments and not wanting any attention. If I ever meet this guy he will wish that he never even talked to her in the first place." I said with a grim face and Richard chuckled. "Trust me, I already talked to him and he won't show his face around here any time soon."

There was a short silence before he spoke again. "You don't have to answer this question, but as Claire's father I only want what's best for her and I feel like you share a very deep connection that goes far beyond friendship. Is there anything going on between the two of you that I should know about?" My eyes widened and my heart felt like it would jump out of my chest at any second. "I..., um, I..." I stuttered. I took a deep breath and decided to tell him how I felt. "I'm gonna be completely honest with you because I feel like you deserve to know the truth, Sir." Richard leaned a bit forward, his eyes fixed on my green ones.

"I have liked your daughter since the moment I first laid eyes on her. She is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen not because she is beautiful in a way society claims you have to be, but because she is herself and just oozes natural beauty and this special beauty from within that you find very rarely in this world. She is kind and generous and incredibly funny, especially when she doesn't even want to be funny." I chuckled and he grinned as well. "She has this amazing thing where she just makes everyone around her smile. She is so incredibly talented, I saw some of her work yesterday and let me tell you, Sir, she has so much potential to make it very far as a songwriter one day, when she's ready to present her songs to the world. She is also a very good singer but she doesn't think so herself." I took a deep breath and Richard gave me an encouraging smile.

"Like I said, I like your daughter very much and I will do anything to make her happy, even if that means that I will have to stand back and watch her be happy with one of my best friends. But I can assure you that I will be there for her as long as she wants me there and even after that." I promised him and he nodded and gave me a warm smile. "You are an exceptional young man, Harry. I don't know this Louis, but I trust you enough to know what's good for her. However, I need you to promise me one thing." I sat up a bit and nodded. "Anything for Claire." 

Richard gave me a warm smile. "I know love when I see it and my daughter loves you deep down in her heart even if she doesn't know it yet herself, so never stop fighting for her, okay? There probably will be times when she will push you away, especially after I'm gone because that's how she deals with grief, but please promise me to never stop fighting for her. And don't let your friend Louis down either. I am sure he is a good guy who deserves happiness just as much as everyone else does. I am just not entirely sure if my daughter is the one for him. So, Harry, promise me to never give up on my daughter, no matter what." He said with such an urgency in his voice that I would have promised him literally anything in this moment. His eyes were filled with concern and I returned his gaze with just as much intensity. "I promise, Sir."


	46. Goodbyes Or How We Bought A Christmas Tree

Harry was very quiet when he returned from the talk with my dad. He was about to leave and was hunched over his bag, struggling with the zipper. I was watching him from the armchair next to the window, a wide grin my face. He looked adorable when he was concentrating so hard, especially when he pouted. My eyes lingered on his lips for a moment before Harry let out a loud groan and slumped down onto my bed next to his bag, letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Would you like some help?" I asked in an amused tone and he grumbled something which I interpreted as a yes. I got up and walked over to my bed where I took a closer look at the stubborn zipper. I tugged at it a few times and the zipper miraculously moved smoothly, letting me close the bag within seconds. "Tada!" I said with a smug grin on my face and presented Harry his bag. "All done." He sat up and suspiciously inspected his bag, only to find that I had indeed managed to close it. "How did you do that? Are you some kind of sorceress?" he asked me with frown. I giggled and shook my head. He glared at his bag, before he picked it up, letting his eyes wander over my decorated walls one more time.

"Thank you for letting me stay the night." he thanked me with a small smile which I returned. "Thank YOU for driving me home, yesterday. And you know for, um, being there for me when I was a mess." I blushed a bit and looked down at my feet until Harry's next words made me look up at him. "I'll always be there for you, Claire." He sounded very sincere and I didn't doubt him for a second. "Thank you, Harry. Same goes for you." We smiled at each other for a minute, before he cleared his throat and checked his watch. "I should probably get going." There was an awkward silence before I nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll walk you downstairs." He grabbed his bag and when he wasn't looking I quickly grabbed his Christmas present and shoved it into my pocket, then I followed him downstairs.

He and my dad shook hands and my dad held onto Harry's hand for a bit longer, pulling him down at bit to quietly say something into his ear. Harry nodded with a very serious look on his face and squeezed my dad's hand before letting go. I was dying to know what they had talked about while my mum and I had been doing the dishes, but he hadn't mentioned it, so I hadn't brought it up either. My mum pulled Harry into a tight hug which he returned and then handed him a lunch box with some homemade sandwiches, some fruits and veggies and a thermos with tea in it. "Thank you, Martha, this is very generous of you. And again thank you very much for your kind hospitality and especially the delicious food." My mum blushed a bit and thanked him for his kind words, assuring him that he was welcome any time.

Harry turned around to face me and there was an awkward silence, both of my parents watching us. "I'll, eh, I'll walk you to your car." I said quietly. He nodded and patiently waited until I had put on my boots and handed me a jacket. Stepping past me, he opened the door for me, before following me outside into the cold. He put his bag into his trunk and then turned around to face me. "I know it's not Christmas yet, but I wanted to give this to you." He pulled out a small, thin parcel which felt like a CD and handed it to me. I smiled sheepishly at him and reached into the back pocket of my jeans to give him a very similar looking present and a folded up piece of paper which was attached to it.

"Looks like we had similar ideas." Harry smirked and I nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Great minds think alike." I chuckled and he laughed, but then became serious. "Are you sure you'll be okay? Remember, I'm always just a phone call away, alright?" I nodded and gulped, trying to not to cry again. "I'll be going to LA for a couple of weeks right after Christmas for the audition for the film, but if anything happens, and I mean literally ANYTHING, I'll be on the first plane back to England, okay?" I nodded again, my tongue seemingly unable to form any words. He pulled me into a tight hug and I felt him kiss my hair. "You are one of the strongest people I know, Claire. Never forget that." I nodded into his chest and then pulled back.

Harry looked down at me, and gently caressed my cheek with his thumb. "I'm always just one phone call away, love." He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead, before he climbed into the car and shut the door behind him. He rolled the window down a bit and grinned up at me. "Don't miss me too much when I'm gone." I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. "I'll try my very best. If I miss you too much, I'll just google you." I told him with a smirk. He shook his head at me, his eyes twinkling. "Take care, love." I smiled down at him. "You, too, Harry."

I waved until he had vanished around a corner and then trudged back towards the house. After I had taken off my boots and my coat, I joined my parents in the living room. They were playing Ludo which was my dad's favourite game and both looked up with big grins on their faces when I entered the living room. "I think your mum has bewitched the cube, there is no way that she's getting so many sixes one after another." my dad complaint to me and I chuckled. "I'm sure she didn't do anything, dad." I sat down next to my mum and assessed the situation on the board. My mum was definitely winning and my dad didn't look too happy about it. "Come on, dad, you always win. Let mum have her moment." I teased him and both of my parents glared at me. "I do win from time to time!" my mother defended herself and me and my dad exchanged a look and burst out laughing. "Sure, love, whatever you say." my dad chuckled and patted my mum's hand.

We played Ludo for another two hours, before we all got ready to go out and buy a Christmas tree. We always did that on the 23rd of December so we were all very excited to go out and continue our tradition. A farm which was a twenty-minutes-drive from our house always sold some beautiful Christmas trees so we all got into the car with the wheelchair shoved into the back of the car next to where I was sitting. 

It took us at least an hour to decide which Christmas tree we wanted. We all had a silent agreement to make this Christmas the best one ever as it could be my dad's last Christmas, so we were a bit picky when it came to choosing the perfect tree. On the way back we stopped at the shops and got some last minute foods for the holidays, including some essentials for the Christmas cookies me and my mum baked every year. Everyone was happy to see me and my parents and spent a very long time in the small shop talking to different people who were also doing some last minute shopping before the holiday, while trying to avoid the madness on the 24th. 

When we got back home, my mum and I put up the Christmas tree while my dad directed us. "A bit more too left. No, that's too far, a bit back! Now turn it a bit, no, not that way, the other way round." We both glared at him and he shook his head at us. "You are hopeless." We decided to just leave it the way it was now and my mum left the room to get the Christmas decorations, while my dad put the Christmas CD into the stereo. All three of us helped to decorate the tree, eating a couple of sandwiches, while we decorated, careful not to spill anything on the ornaments. My dad was responsible for the lower branches, while me and my mum took turns on climbing up a chair to hang some ornaments at the very top of the tree. After an hour of decorated we were all completely exhausted, but the tree looked beautiful. The three of us exchanged proud looks and nodded. We were ready for Christmas.


	47. Happy Birthday Or 999 What's Your Emergency?

I woke up on the 24th of December, instantly remembering that it was Louis' birthday. Planning on calling him via Skype around eleven o'clock, I quickly hopped out of bed to take a shower. After getting dressed and applying some make up, I went downstairs to get some food from the kitchen. Both of my parents were already sitting at the table, munching on some toast and looked up when I entered the kitchen. "Morning, honey." my mum greeted me with a wide smile, shooting me a look before subtly nodding her head towards my dad. I carefully eyed my dad who looked incredibly tired and exhausted. "No sleep." my mum mouthed behind his back. I turned to my dad and gave him an encouraging smile. "You okay, dad?" I asked him hesitantly and he pulled a face, but nodded anyway. "Been better." he grumbled into his tea and coughed a bit. 

Quickly, I prepared myself some tea and toast, before I excused myself to go back upstairs to my room where I wanted to skype Louis in a couple of minutes. "Where are you off to, love?" my mum asked me curiously and send me a cheeky smile. "Skyping Louis. It's his 24th birthday."" i told her with a grin which she returned. "Do we get to meet your "friend" one day, love?" she asked me and wiggled her eyebrows. I shook my head at her immaturity, but it had made my dad smile which was probably what she was aiming at. "Maybe." I said and added with a smirk "You can google him if you wanna know what he looks like. He is one of Harry's best friends and bandmates." My parents exchanged a knowing look. "Then he must be a good guy." my dad said with a small smile and coughed again. I tried to look not too concerned and returned his smile. "He really is." I assured them. I picked up my plate with the toast and my tea and with a wave, I disappeared upstairs. 

Back upstairs in my room, I quickly texted Louis and told him to go on Skype, while I got comfortable on my bed. Within two minutes, I received a video call from Louis which I accepted instantly. A widely smiling Louis popped up on my screen. "Hi, love." I smiled back at him, just as widely. "Hi, Lou. Happy birthday!" He chuckled at my enthusiasm. "How has your birthday been so far, old man?" I asked him with a smirk and he shook his head in a disapproving sort of way. "I don't think that you are in any position to make any jokes, love. You're not that much younger than me." I feigned innocence and he laughed. "I really miss you already and it hasn't even been a week." he admitted and my heart swelled with happiness, making me blush a bit. "I miss you, too, Lou. I wish I could have spent a bit more time with you last week, but I was super busy studying. Oh and I'm sorry that I missed you on Saturday! My mum told me that my dad was suddenly doing much worse and I just really needed to be there for them." I explained and he nodded.

"Lily explained it all to me, although I would have preferred to have heard it from you. But let's forget about that, alright?" Guilt was pushing itself into my heart, but I tried to ignore it and nodded, sending him a thankful smile. "How is your dad now? Is he doing any better?" Louis asked me, concern written all over his face. I gulped and shook my head. "He won't get any better any time soon, probably never." I admitted quietly and blinked away some tears which were threatening to spill over. His face fell and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to somehow climb through the screen and hold me. "I am very sorry to hear that, love. There isn't anything I could do, is there?" I shook my head in response, unable to form any words. 

Louis, obviously trying to distract me, reached behind him and smirked with me. "By the way, thank you very much for your birthday present, love. Very much appreciated." He held up the book 'Pranklopedia' by Julie Winterbottom which I had gotten him for his birthday. I grinned back at him and run a hand through my hair. "You are very welcome. I was a bit tight on money this year, but I thought you'd appreciate this. Maybe for your next encounter with Liam." I suggested and he chuckled and flipped through the book, while I enjoyed the look of childish enthusiasm and cheekiness on his face. "This is gonna be so useful." he told me with a wide grin and I laughed and continued eating my breakfast.

"Have you received any other presents so far?" I asked Louis, trying to keep the topic light. He readjusted the camera, momentarily giving me a peek at his room at his mum's home. "You mean apart from this amazing book and a skype call with the most beautiful girl I ever had the fortune to meet?"he asked me with a wink, turning me into a human tomato, but I only nodded and pretended that I hadn't heard his compliment. "I did receive some great presents from my family so far. I received a lovely drawing from Doris and Ernest and Phoebe and Daisy teamed up with Fizzy and gave me a new Doncaster t-shirt and Lottie made me a photo album." He smiled happily and I had the sudden urge to pinch his cheek, which I luckily couldn't do through the screen. 

"Oh, and my mum and Dan bought me some new important stuff for my new recording set in my house in London." He turned the camera a bit to the left so that I could see his presents on the desk behind him. In the middle was a massive cake which looked delicious. "I wish I could spend the day with you." I admitted with a sad smile and looked longingly at the cake. Louis followed my eyes and grinned. "You just want a piece of that cake, don't you?" I vigorously shook my head. "Of course not! I mean, I'm not necessarily gonna say no to a delicious piece of cake, but what I meant was spending some quality time with you and your family." I defended myself and took another sip from my tea. "Sure, love, whatever helps you sleep at night."

I stuck out my tongue at him and Louis raised an eyebrow at me. "What did I tell you about putting your tongue to a better use?" he asked with a smirk and I instantly shut my mouth, my cheeks burning. "Oh, shut up, Tomlinson!" His smirk grew wider if that was even possible. "You could make me shut up if you were here..." he said in a suggestive tone. My cheeks seemed to be on fire at his point which he obviously enjoyed immensely. 

There was a knock on his door and a few seconds later, Lottie appeared next to Louis on the screen. I waved at her and she smiled. "Hi, Lottie!" She grinned at waved back. "Hi, Claire! I thought I'd heard Louis say something inappropriate and assumed that must be talking to you." she told me with wink. Louis chuckled and I tried to look as normal as possible. "I am sure you must have misheard something." I told her and she smirked. "Hmmmmm.... Anyway, nice to see you again, Claire." She got up and blew me a kiss before she left the room again. 

Suddenly there was a loud crash downstairs which made both of us jump. I excused myself and poked my head out of my door. "Mum, dad, is everything alright?" I shouted downstairs. I didn't get a reply. "Mum?" I shouted a bit more panicky. I quickly run back inside of my room. "I gotta check on my parents, I'll call you back, alright?" I told Louis quickly who only had time to nod before I slammed my laptop shut and sprinted downstairs, nearly falling down in the process. Jumping over a jacket which lay on the floor in the hallway, I burst into the kitchen. My dad was lying on the floor, seemingly unconscious, while my mum was hovering over him, trying to wake him up. "Dad!" I fell down to my knees next to my dad and instantly searched for a pulse. 

I nearly cried when I felt one and looked up to my mum who had tears streaming down her face. "What happened?" I asked frantically. She wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "He just collapsed and fell off his chair. Can you please call an ambulance?" I nodded and grabbed the phone, almost automatically dialing 999. My heart was beating fast and my knees felt week. A woman's voice answered the call. "999, what's your emergency?" I took a deep breath before I replied, the hand with the phone shaking. "Hi, my dad just collapsed in our kitchen and he hasn't regained consciousness yet. He does have a pulse though, but we need an ambulance." I took a shaky breath and squeezed my eyes shut. "Okay, what is your address, love?" she asked me in a kind voice and I quickly told her our address. 

"Alright, an ambulance is on their way. Has your dad shown any sign of chest pain or troubles with breathing or something like that?" I shook my head and then remembered that she couldn't see me. "He has a chronic disease and hasn't been well for the past few days and he got very little sleep last night, coughing all night. But I don't think he complained about chest pains." I shot my mum a questioning look and she shook her head. "No, he didn't complain about chest pains." My mum shot me a thankful look. "Alright, love, the paramedics will be with you in a second, will you be okay on your own until then or would you like for me to stay on the line?" the lady asked me and I thanked her and told her that we would be fine. "Okay, I hope your dad will feel better soon." I looked down at the unconscious figure on the floor in front of me. " I hope so, too, thank you." 

The ambulance came within the next few minutes which felt like hours. I quickly explained to them what had happened because my mum seemed to be in shock. One of the paramedics took her into the living room to talk to her while the other two tried to figure out what was wrong with my dad. "How long has he been unconscious for?" asked one of the paramedics and looked up from my dad's arm where he was securing a blood pressure monitor. I shrugged, unable to give a specific time. "I think at least twenty minutes or so?" He nodded and gave me a reassuring smile. "We will take him to the next big trauma centre at the Norwich University Hospital which is quite far from here, but it's the best one in the area." I only nodded and watched them set up an IV at my dad's hand.

Suddenly, he started moving and his eyelashes fluttered. "Richard?" one of the paramedics asked. I was shaking while I watched my dad open his eyes, looking around with confusion. "Richard, can you hear me? I am Tom, one of the paramedics. You collapsed in your kitchen about forty-five minutes ago." He tried to calm my dad down. My dad opened his mouth, but no words came out of his mouth. "Richard, you are probably a bit confused about what happened to you and that's perfectly normal, okay? Are you in any pain right now?" Tom asked him and my dad opened his mouth again. "No." he croaked out and looked around the kitchen. 

He visibly relaxed as soon as his eyes fell on me. "Claire." I rushed forward and shot Tom a questioning look who moved a bit to the side to let me kneel down next to my dad. "Dad, everything will be okay, alright? I am here and mum's in the living room." My dad nodded and reached for my hand which I instantly took and gave it a light squeeze. "Okay, Richard, we will now move you onto the stretcher to take you into the ambulance and then we'll bring you to the hospital to get you checked out, okay?" My dad nodded and squeezed my hand a bit tighter, before he had to let go.

My mum drove with my dad at the back of the ambulance and I was left alone in our house, trying to figure out how to get to the hospital the fastest. Walking back upstairs to grab my purse, I saw my phone lying on my bed next to my computer where I had skyped Louis not even an hour ago. I picked up my phone which showed several missed calls and a couple of texts from Louis. Trying to hold my phone between my ear and shoulder I rushed through my room to pick up some things I might need at the hospital. Louis picked up after two rings. "Claire, what happened? Is everyone okay?" he rushed out, panic evident in his voice. "I'm fine, it's my dad. He collapsed in the kitchen without any obvious reasons and was unconscious for at least half an hour. They are now on the way to the hospital in the ambulance." I told him, leaving my room and walking down the stairs to pack up some things of my dad's.

"Is he going to be okay?" I quickly packed some clothes and bathroom essentials into a small bag. "I hope so. I mean it's the day before Christmas, I really want him to be home for that. Especially since this could be his last Christmas." My voice broke at the end of the sentence and I momentarily closed my eyes, trying to hold back the tears. "I am so sorry, Claire. Is there anything I could do? Should I come over?" he asked me and I immediately protested. "Louis, it's your birthday! And it's Christmas tomorrow! Please, don't come. There isn't really anything you can do and I'll be fine on my own. I have to support my mum and my dad anyway." I rushed out and I heard him sigh on the other end of the line.

"But who will look after you?" I gulped. There was a short silence before I replied. "I can take care of myself. I'll be fine." I didn't sound very convincing and I was sure that Louis knew I wasn't entirely telling the truth."I don't believe you, but I respect your decision, love, so I won't get into the car right now, as much as I want to. But please call me if you need me, okay? And drive carefully!"

I zipped up the bag and readjusted the phone with my other hand. "Will do, thanks, Lou. You're the best. Enjoy your birthday, okay?" I heard him chuckle. "I know I am amazing, but please don't hesitate to call me, love." I hummed in response and after a final check on the house, I unlocked the car and threw my bags onto the passenger's seat. "Thank you for your support, Lou. I'll talk to you later, bye!" There was a shuffle before he replied. "Love you, bye!" My heart skipped a beat when he said the l-word, but I tried to ignore it and instead tried to figure out how my parents' car was working. A few minutes later I was on my way to Norwich as well, the comforting sound of 'Home' playing quietly in the background.


	48. Mix Tapes Or How We Celebrated Christmas

The rest of the day was spent in hospital where my dad underwent multiple tests to figure out what had caused his collapse in the kitchen earlier that day. The diagnosis was shattering. According to the doctors, my dad's heart muscles had stopped working for a few seconds, so minimal that my dad hadn't felt it coming like you would if you had a heart attack. That had caused him too faint and these interruptions seemed to have carried on for the next few minutes which is why he was out for so long. No one knew if something like that would happen again, but because of my dad's already advanced stages of his disease there wasn't much they could do about that as an operation would be too much for his body to take.

As they couldn't really do anything for my dad, they sent us home at the end of the day, leaving me to drive my exhausted parents back home to Hunstanton. It was a quiet drive, with Christmas songs playing quietly in the background, occasionally interrupted by a radio moderator. It was already quite late when we arrived back home and so everyone went to bed, trying to come to terms with what had happened today, with what would inevitably happen in the near future and the fact that it was Christmas Day tomorrow.

I woke up really early the next morning and quietly climbed downstairs in my pyjamas to prepare a nice breakfast with our special Christmas food for everyone to enjoy. I was determined to make this the best Christmas ever, so I spent an hour in the kitchen preparing loads of food before I gently woke up my parents. They were both happily surprised when they saw the prepared breakfast and my mum lit the candles on the tree, before we all sat down to enjoy our breakfast. We laughed and joked around, completely ignoring everything that had happened the day before, and had one of the best mornings in a while.

After breakfast, my mum and I quickly did the dishes before we returned to the living room to unwrap our presents. I had gotten my dad an audiobook which he could listen to when he was too exhausted to read. It was his favourite book and he nearly cried with happiness when he had unwrapped it. My mum received a relax box from lush cosmetics which she was also very happy about. I thought that she needed something to help her relax when she was taking care of my dad while handling working from home at the same time.

My parents had gotten me a vintage record player with my three favourite albums in vinyl as well. I looked lovingly down at my new possessions and then got up to give each of parents a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love them!" I told them happily and they exchanged and amused look. Then we moved on to the presents from friends and other relatives. My hands were shaking a bit when I opened Louis' present. I didn't know what to expect at all. I carefully unwrapped the present, both of my parents watching me with interest. A photo album fell into my lap with a small Christmas card attached to it.

"Dear Claire, Merry Christmas and a very happy new year. I know how much you love photos, so I got you a photo album which I already started for you. Love you, Louis xxx" I put the card down and slowly opened the book, careful not to break anything. The first page said "Claire's memories" in Louis' handwriting with his typical smile which he had also tattooed on his wrist. A big smile spread across my face and I moved onto the next page. It was filled with photos of him and me, me and Lily, me and Harry, me and Niall and Liam, me and Ed, just me, the whole double page was covered with photos put together in a very beautiful montage. My eyes were tearing up and I quickly wiped my eyes before I continued looking at the photos. My favourite one was a photo that someone must have taken without me noticing it.

I was dancing with Louis, my arms wrapped around his neck, his hands on my waist, while we smiled at each other, completely lost in our own world. It must have been taken at the album release party, like most of the photos on the page. Another favourite of mine was a photo of me and Harry, both widely grinning into the camera, both obviously drunk. He had put his arm around my waist and my head was leaning against his chest. I giggled when I realised that Harry was holding a green toothbrush in his other hand.

My dad cleared his throat and my head snapped up. Both of my parents were watching me curiously, amused smiles on their faces. "Did you get a nice present, honey?" my mum asked and I nodded with a wide smile. "Yes, Louis gave me a photo album and already filled the first page with photos of us and the others." I handed the book over to my mum who eagerly opened it. "This is beautiful, honey! Now, who is who?" The next few minutes, I went over each photo with my parents, explaining who that person was. They congratulated Lily on Niall ("Good choice, he has gorgeous blue eyes!" my mum commented.) and were very interested in Louis. "He looks like a nice chap." my dad said with a wink in my direction and I rolled my eyes, but couldn't stop myself from grinning stupidly. "Thanks, dad."

I saved Harry's present for last, nervously unwrapping the gift. As I had suspected, it was a CD. My eyes lit up when I saw that he had made me a mixtape. A card fell onto the floor in front of me and I picked it up and eagerly read what he had written.

"Dear Claire,

I wish you a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of love, laughter and happiness. I hope you enjoy the tape (even if it's in form of a CD and not an actual tape), it's a collection of some of my favourite songs that I thought you might enjoy. I am looking forward to seeing you again very soon.

All the love, as always, Harry xxx"

I read through the titles on the back of the CD and smiled when I saw some familiar tracks. I was eager to listen to the tape as soon as possible and impatiently waited until my parents had also unwrapped their gifts. My dad, who had seemed to notice my impatience, gave me a subtle nod and winked at me, before he engaged my mum into a conversation about who we would see at my grandma's house tomorrow and I sneaked out of the room. 

After nearly falling down the stairs on my way up to my room, I quietly shut my door and put the CD into my stereo. The next hour I was on a musical journey which felt like I was getting to know Harry on a whole different level. The song choice seemed very personal and some of the songs made me smile widely, however most made me cry. After it had finished I just lay on my bed, starring at the ceiling, until the sound of a new message made me jump. I picked up my phone, which had been lying on my nightstand, and saw that I had received messages from Harry, Louis and Lily. 

I opened Lily's first who was thanking me for the bracelet I had bought her and replied quickly with a merry x-mas and thanks for her present (Made In The Am as vinyl) as well. She must have talked to my parents about my present before, but I wasn't angry, just happy. I had given Louis a t-shirt with a cool print on it and my favourite photo of the two of us in a nice frame, which he seemed to love because he had sent me a selfie of him wearing the new t-shirt with a wide grin on his face which made me smile. He also asked how my dad was doing and I quickly replied to him assuring him that my dad doing fine (as fine as he could be anyway) and thanked him for the beautiful photo album.

Lastly, I opened Harry's message.

"Merry Christmas, love. Your taste in music is excellent, thank you for sharing something so personal with me. If you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me. I hope you're dad's doing well. All the love, H xxx" I felt very honoured that Harry Styles thought my taste in music was excellent. I smiled to myself before I typed an answer. "Merry Christmas, Harry. Your taste in music isn't too shabby either... ;) My dad's doing okay- we spent a couple of hours at the hospital yesterday, but he's better now. I hope you're enjoying your Christmas. Love, C xxx" I put my phone back down and made my way into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed for the day.

A.N. I spent about an hour and a half looking through my Spotify library to find songs for the mix tapes, so if you would like to listen to them, here they are. S xxx

Harry's tape for Claire:  
Blackbird- The Beatles  
Elenore- the Turtles  
Here Comes The Sun- The Beatles  
Holocene- Bon Iver  
Graceland- Paul Simon  
Running, James Bay  
Bridge Over Troubled Waters- Simon and Garfunkel  
I Should Go- Levi Kreis  
Drown In My Tears- Ray Clarke  
Burn- Ray LaMontagne  
You Can't Always Get What You Want- Rolling Stones  
Wait- M83

(I used his mix tape in Another Man's magazine as an inspiration and added my own touch to the thing, hopefully creating something Harry might potentially listen to.)

Claire's Tape For Harry:  
Kodachrome- Paul Simon  
Sweet Redemption- Ron Pope  
God Only Knows- The Beach Boys  
Your Winter- Sister Hazel  
Something- The Beatles  
How Can You Mend A Broken Heart- Al Green  
Don't Let The Sun Go Down- Elton John  
Never Let Me Go- Florence + The Machine  
Somewhere Only We Know- Keane  
Scars- James Bay  
Hunger- Ross Copperman  
Saturn- Sleeping At Last

(This is a mixture of what I listen to and something that is similar to Harry's (fictional?) taste in music.)


	49. Surprise Visit Or How My Mum Is Embarrassing

Christmas passed in a bliss of happiness and good memories. All three of us tried to savour every single moment, spending the evenings talking until one of us would fall asleep in front of the fire. I didn't want to leave my parents and go back to London, but I knew that I had to leave on the 30th of December if I wanted to make it to Louis' New Year's Eve party without being completely exhausted from the journey. Two days after Christmas, I got a text from Louis around lunch time. "Look out of the window. Xxx" I hastily walked over to my window and looked outside. Louis Tomlinson was standing in our driveway, leaning against his car, looking better than ever. I let out a squeal and rushed downstairs, not even taking time to put some shoes on instead of slippers and yanked the door open.

Louis was indeed standing in our driveway with a wide grin on his face. I laughed, run outside and jumped into his arms. "What are you doing here, you idiot?" I asked him and wrapped my legs around his waist. He supported my weight with his hands, definitely enjoying the chance to squeeze my bum. I looked up at him and he grinned down at me, his eyes twinkling with happiness. "I missed you. I knew you weren't doing well so I thought I'd come by for a couple of hours and here I am." He gently sat me down and instead cupped my face with his hands. I blushed a bit. "Hi." I said breathlessly and he chuckled and smiled back at me. "Hi, love." He pulled me a bit closer and placed a gentle kiss on my nose and then slowly wandered down my cheek to my mouth, teasing me. After a few seconds, I had enough and forcefully turned his head around so that his mouth was finally on mine.

He smiled into the kiss, but kissed me back just as eagerly, until we both had to pull away to catch our breath. "Eager, aren't we love?" I nodded and tried to ignore the cold, but it was freezing and I was starting to get really cold. "You aren't even wearing shoes!" Louis scolded me and I stuck out my tongue at him and took his hand, dragging him behind me into the house. I took his coat and he took off is shoes and then reached for my hand, intertwining our fingers and pressing a light kiss to the back of my hand. "Ready to meet the parents?" I asked him and he paled and gulped. "Not at all, let's go." I lightly squeezed his hand and pulled him over to the living room where my parents were sitting.

My dad lowered his newspaper as soon as he saw that I wasn't alone and my mum nearly dropped her book. I cleared my throat. "Um, mum, dad, this is my, um, this is Louis." I blushed furiously and looked everywhere but where my dad was sitting. Louis let go off my hand and walked over to where my dad was sitting. He respectfully offered him his hand which my dad took after a sharp look in my direction. "Louis Tomlinson, it's nice to meet you, Sir." Louis introduced himself, suddenly very nervous. My dad gave him a stern look before his face spread into a smile and he shook Louis' hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, young man. Claire has already told us all about you. Apparently you took her ice skating?" Louis' face lit up and he shot me a thankful look. "Yes, I did. She is super talented. Really didn't expect that."

He looked over to me again and I gave him a smug smile. "She even did competitions when she was a kid." my mum said proudly from the other side of the room and I blushed. "Mum! Louis doesn't want to hear about that." I silently tried to communicate with him, but he only smirked at me and then walked over to where my mum was sitting who got up and pulled him into a hug, completely ignoring his outstretched hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Louis. I'm Martha." Louis hugged her back and she shot me an approving look. "I didn't know you were friends with so many good-looking young men, Claire." she teased me and I blushed even more. "Mum!" She laughed and patted Louis arm who obviously immensely enjoyed himself.

"Would you, um, would you like to go for a walk along the beach?" I asked him in a desperate attempt to get him away from my mum. "Sure, love." He followed me into the hallway and put his shoes and coat back on, while I searched for a hat and some gloves to wear. Being the gentleman that he is, Louis helped me into my jacket and then opened the door for me. We stepped outside into the cold, after promising my mum that would be back in an hour for lunch.

I led Louis down a path down to the beach where I grew up. I loved it throughout the year, but especially in winter when it was cold, windy and wild. I walked up to the shore and just enjoyed the view, watching the waves crash into the shore. I felt Louis' eyes on me, watching me from the side, but I kept my eyes on the sea. A few seconds later, two strong arms wrapped themselves around me, pulling me into Louis' chest. He rested his chin on my shoulder and I leaned back and enjoyed the warmth and comfort he was providing.

"I always used to go out here to think, when I was upset." I told him quietly. "It's such a good place to think. There aren't a lot of people here apart from a few weeks during the summer and it's so peaceful out here." He hummed and pressed a kiss to my cheek. We stayed silent for a couple of minutes, simply enjoying each other's company, until we both got too cold and started to walk along the beach, Louis' hand tightly holding my small one. He told me about his birthday and Christmas and his family and I told him about mine. It was so easy to talk to him and we were both hesitant to return to my parents' house, but the promised lunch and the cold convinced us to return after an hour.

My parents welcomed Louis to our table and questioned him about his life and his plans for the hiatus. Then my dad asked him seriously what his intentions with me where which made Louis blush and me choke on my food. I coughed and Louis patted my back and offered me his water to help me which I happily accepted. "I, um, I like your daughter very much." He admitted. Both of us blushed at his words. "I, um, I would very much like to ask her out on a second date now that my schedule is a bit more relaxed." He reached for my hand and gave it a light squeeze. I smiled at him and squeezed back. Louis visibly relaxed and hesitantly looked over to my dad who gave him a nod.

The rest of the lunch was a bit awkward and after washing the dishes, we went upstairs into my room for a little bit, where Louis was just as intrigued by my photos and texts on the walls as Harry had been. However, I could easily distract him by pulling him onto my bed where we ended up cuddling for a bit after a heavy make out session which I ended by reminding him that my mum could walk in on us any time. Louis stayed until the late afternoon, when he decided to leave to get back to his family in time for dinner. He said goodbye to my parents, promising my dad to take good care of me in London, before I followed him outside to his car to say goodbye.

"Thank you for driving all the way from Doncaster to spend some time with me." I thanked him with a big smile and leaned in to kiss him goodbye. "Any time, love, any time." He gently pushed a couple of loose strands out of my face and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'll see you in three days, okay?" I nodded into his chest and we pulled apart. After another chased kiss on my forehead, he climbed into the car and a few seconds and a couple of goodbyes later he had disappeared around the corner.


	50. Raspberry Margaritas Or Happy New Year

During the next two days, I tried to spend as much time with my dad as possible, trying to hold on to every little detail before I had to go back to London. No one was sure how much longer he had, but after the incident right before Christmas, we all knew that it wasn't very long. The day I had to leave was very difficult not just for me, but also for my parents, especially my dad. I was sitting on his lab in his embrace, just like I did when I was younger. I was crying a bit, and my dad was also fighting some tears. He gently stroked my hair and tried to calm me down. "Hey, you will be fine, Claire. Shhhh, stop crying, it'll all be okay."

But the tears wouldn't stop flowing and I just hugged him tighter. "I don't want you to die." I managed to croak and I felt him sigh underneath me. "I don't want to leave you both either, love, but that's life. I have had such an amazing life with a fantastic wife and my amazing daughter. I am so proud of how far you have come, so, so proud, Claire. Of course I am sad that I won't see you get married or have kids or graduate from university, but I know that you will live a great life that you can be proud of and I will be proudly watching you from above. Just listen to your heart and follow your dreams, no matter what everyone else is saying. Because at the end of the day, it's you who has to live with your decisions and it's always better to do something stupid once in a while, than to wonder for the rest of your life what would have happened if you had made the decision differently and taken a risk." I heard the smile in his voice. "And I will always be watching over you, alright?" I felt him kiss the top of my head hugged him as tight as I could. "I love you, dad." I smiled a bit and looked up to see him already looking down at me. "I love you, too, kiddo. And now go, before you miss your train!" I gave him one last kiss and then quickly walked outside to the car where my mum was already waiting to drive me to the train station.

The train ride home was very long and boring and I was glad that I brought a good book with me. When I arrived in our little flat in London, I barely managed to get to my bedroom before I broke down crying again. It took me at least half an hour to calm down again and when I heard Lily's key in the lock I prayed that she was on her own. "Claire? Are you home?" she called from the hallway and but I didn't reply. A few seconds later, my door opened and Lily poked her head inside my room. Her eyes widened when she saw my puffy, red eyes and instantly pulled me into a tight hug.

"Hey, are you okay? What happened?" she asked me concerned and I quickly told her everything that had happened during the past two weeks while she was gone. "I am so, so sorry, C. I know how close you two are. But you need to stay strong, okay? And I am here for you, just like you are always here for me when I'm a mess, alright?" I nodded and she got off my bed and pulled me up with her. "Alright, enough crying, let's go and watch some Teen Wolf and make some pasta. We can drool over Dylan O'brien and Tyler Hoechlin together!" I managed a weak smile and followed her into the kitchen where we quickly prepared some pasta which we took with us to the living room.

The rest of the night was spent with laughing and talking and I ended up sleeping in her room where we stayed up talking until the early hours of the morning when Lily fell asleep mid-sentence. I was so grateful to have such an amazing friend by my side and realised how much I had missed her during the past two weeks. With a smile, I snuggled deeper into the warm blanket and a few minutes later I was fast asleep.

The next day, Lily and I started getting ready for Louis' New Year's Eve party during the late afternoon. Louis had told me that it would just be a couple of close friends which was completely fine with me, but that didn't really help me with what I should be wearing. In the end I opted for skinny black jeans and a dark green top which was only held together by a couple of thin strings in the back. Lily had talked me into wearing it, matched with the underwear she and I had bought at Victoria's Secret as you could see my bra quite clearly. I had refused not to wear any bra at all which had been her first suggestion, not when my top could come undone with one small tug, so she had made me wear my new fancy lace underwear which I also wasn't entirely comfortable with.

Lily would be coming with Niall who was picking her up around nine, while I had promised Louis to be there by eight to help him set everything up. I took the bus because there was no way I could walk fifteen minutes on my shoes over the icy London pavements. There already seemed to be a couple of people there and I was a bit nervous to meet everyone, especially since I wasn't even sure what exactly Louis and I were. Were we dating? Friends? Friends who occasionally kissed? I was really bad when it came to relationship stuff and unsure about how to address this without making things awkward between us.

The door swung open within a few seconds and Louis was standing in the doorway. He was wearing the t-shirt I had given him to Christmas and looked better than ever. I was very tempted to run a hand through his perfectly styles hair but I wanted to survive until midnight, so I kept my hands by my side. "Hello, beautiful. Come on in!" I hesitantly walked into the house and took my shoes off, giving him a peck on the cheek. After taking off my scarf as well, I dropped my coat, revealing my back to Louis and I could hear his breath hitch. Turning around, I could see him openly staring at me, his eyes suddenly a shade darker. I grinned like a Cheshire cat and walked past him into the kitchen, very pleased with his reaction.

In the kitchen I was met with a couple of people who I didn't know and my confidence disappeared as quickly as it had come. Suddenly, I felt Louis' warm hand on my lower back and looked up to see him smiling down at me, before he looked back to his friends. "Guys, this is Claire, Claire these are my friends Stanley, Lee, Vicky, Ben and his girlfriend Katie., I think you have met at least Stanley at the last OTRA show." I waved a bit and everyone said hello and smiled at me. "Would you like a drink, Claire?" Lee offered with a grin and I nodded and gratefully took the glass he was holding out for me. "What's in here?" I asked curiously and carefully took a small sip. It tasted great, so I happily took another one.

"It's supposed to be a strawberry margarita, but we run out of strawberries so now it's more of a raspberry margarita." Vicky explained with a grin and I laughed. "Still tastes amazing, thank you." Lee did a mock bow and Vicky rolled her eyes. Louis guided me to a chair and pulled me onto his lab. "Don't worry, love, I completely trust every single one of them. None of them would sell anything to the press." he whispered into my ear. I relaxed a little bit and sipped on my drink, enjoying the feeling of Louis' hands on my waist and tried to forget all my problems for one night of fun.

As the night progressed, I drunk more and more, and I could soon feel that it was starting to affect me. In a way I was trying to forget my problems and the alcohol helped, at least temporarily. Louis shot me concerned looks from time to time and when I reached for a new glass after my sixth drink he grabbed my hand and prevented me from moving. "I think you've had enough for now, love." he told me quietly and I pouted. "That face won't work on me." An idea came to my mind and I hopped off Louis' lab and pulled him into the living room where a couple of people were already dancing.

I pulled him close and wrapped my arms around my neck, teasing him with some obvious movements with my hips. Drunk Claire was definitely a lot bolder and didn't care as much as Sober Claire would. I giggled at my own thoughts and Louis shot me a confused look. His hands were lying on my hips, his eyes holding mine in place the entire time. I deliberately let my body bump into his, making his eyes darken. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I just shot him an innocent look and continued dancing. His hands begin to move a little bit, slowly creeping towards the bare skin on my back. His touch send shivers down my spine and my drunkenness wasn't really helping me with keeping myself together.

Suddenly the music stopped and we were both ripped out of our own little world. "Two minutes to midnight, guys!" Lee shouted from the door and everyone gathered together and got themselves something to toast with. Louis disappeared in the crowd and returned a couple of seconds later with two glasses filled with champagne. "Oh so now I'm allowed to drink again?" I asked him with a smirk and he rolled his eyes and pulled me into him. Everyone was facing the windows to see the big fireworks over the city. "I am cutting you off right after midnight." he said quietly into my ear. I looked up at him and he was grinning down at me. "Then I'll just go to Lily or Niall. I am sure they are happy to help me out." I told him with a smirk and looked over to where they were standing. Niall had wrapped his arms around her waist and she was leaning against him, both in their own little happy bubble.

"Ten, nine, eight..." the others started to count and I looked up at Louis again, trying to figure out how the hell I had gotten so lucky in my life to have him by my side. "Three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!" everyone shouted. I grinned widely and saw that Louis looked just as excited and happy as I did. "Happy new year, love." He leaned in and we shared a really sweet kiss. "Happy new year, Lou." We smiled at each other until we were interrupted by Niall and Lily who had walked over to us. "Happy new year, buddy!" shouted Niall. "You, too, mate!" Niall and Louis hugged and Lily pulled me into a hug as well. Then Niall spread his arms for me. "Claire, my best friend, come here!" Laughing I let go off Lily and hugged him back. "Look at the fireworks!" said someone from the back and I turned around and looked outside into the night as the sky above London lit up in every single colour imaginable.

In that moment, I wished Harry was by my side as well. He was in California, spending New Years' Eve with some friends of his. As if he had read my thoughts, my phone started ringing and when I took it out of my pocket, Harry's name flashed across the screen. "I'll be right back." I assured Louis and with a kiss to my cheek he released his grip on my hand. I quickly walked into his bedroom and shut the door behind me, effectively keeping out the noise from the party. "Hi, Harry." I answered the phone with a big smile on my face. "Hi, love, happy new year!" I walked over to the window and looked outside. "Thank you, I would wish you the same but I know you still have a couple of hours to go." I attempted to joke and he chuckled.

"You're right, I am just about to leave for the party. Are you having a good time at Louis'?" I nodded and then realised that he couldn't see me and giggled. "I'm sorry, I just nodded and..." but I was laughing so hard that I couldn't finish the sentence. "How much did you have to drink, Claire?" sounded Harry's voice through the phone, obviously amused at my behaviour. "Um, a couple of drinks, I think, but Louis cut me off. I am having a great time, though. It's easier to forget when you're drunk." I told him cheerfully, unaware of what I had just said.

"Easier to forget what, love? What happened?" Harry asked, the urgency clear in his deep voice. "Oh, it's nothing. Just my dad dying, the usual, you know." I said and immediately wanted to slap myself, but I was too drunk to actually care, so I shrugged it off. "It's not nothing, Claire. I know you are hurting because of this, but believe me when I say, alcohol won't solve your problems. It only numbs your pain for a bit, until it returns with even more force when you are sober. Please don't drown your sorrows in alcohol. Talk to me, or Louis, or Lily, or just anyone, really. Please promise me that, okay?" Harry sounded very upset, but I stayed quiet for a bit, trying to sort out my thoughts. "Claire?" he asked carefully. "I'm still here." I cleared my throat before I continued. "I, um, I think I have to go back to the others now, bye Harry." I ended the call before he had the chance to say anything else and turned my phone on silent, shoving it back into my pocket, before I made my way back downstairs to the party.

Downstairs, Louis shot me a concerned look and pulled me aside. "Why did Harry send me a text telling me to look out for you? Did something happen between the two of you?" I shook my head and tried to ignore the guilt I was feeling. "Nope, he just wanted to wish me a happy new year, that's all. " He didn't look very convinced and watched me like a hawk while I pretended to be happy and wished everyone around me a happy new year.

The numbness of the alcohol was gone and even though I was still drunk, I wasn't blissfully happy anymore. I strolled into the kitchen and quickly downed another drink when Louis was distracted. However, I hadn't noticed Liam staring at me from the other side of the room. A few seconds later, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. "If you want to sneak around you have to do a lot better than that." Liam grinned down at me and I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, too drunk to care that I had gotten caught. "Hey, hey, hey, not so fast. What's wrong, love?" I tried to free myself from his grip, but he was too strong for me. Stupid, fit attractive people out there. "Hey, Claire, talk to me. What's wrong?" He looked down at me, concern written all over his face. Harry's advice popped into my head, but I shook it off. "I'm fine, Liam." I told him in a monotone voice. "See, I don't believe that, love. The way you just sneaked past Louis to get more alcohol makes me believe otherwise."

With all my strength, I ripped my arm out of Liam's grip and took a step backwards. "Fine, you're right, I'm not okay, alright? I am far from okay. Are you happy now?" Tears started to spill over and I angrily tried to blink them away. With one big step Liam was in front of me and pulled me into a hug. "Shhhh, you will be fine, love. Everything's gonna be okay." He gently stroked my bag and just held me for a few seconds to calm me down. "What's going on?" Louis' voice asked behind me and I tried to make myself invisible in Liam's arms. "Nothing, mate, she's just a little bit upset, that's all."

"Claire, are you okay?" Louis sounded really concerned so I let go of Liam and gave him a thankful smile which he returned, before I turned around to face Louis. "I'm fine, just had a bit of a moment. I know it's just half past twelve, but would you mind if I went home? I'm not feeling well." I admitted quietly and looked down at my feet. "Hey, love, look at me." Louis's finger gently pushed my chin up and made me look at him. "Are you sure you'll be fine all by yourself at home, or do you want me to come with you?" I instantly shook my head. "No, no, no, no, I'll be fine. I'm just drunk and upset and not really in the mood to party, but this is your party, so please enjoy it, okay? I'll be fine." I tried to convince him and after a long look at me he nodded. "Okay, I believe you, but please let me pay for a taxi for you." Knowing that arguing wouldn't change his mind and too drunk to care, I nodded and walked towards the door to get my coat.

"I'll drop her off and then come back here. That way you don't have to leave your party and someone will make sure that she gets home safely." Liam's voice said behind me. I opened my mouth to protest but the look on Louis' face shut me up. "Thank you, Liam." he said gratefully, and helped me into my big coat. He called a taxi and after a quick goodbye kiss, Liam and I were walking down the path in front of Louis' house to the street. Well, Liam was walking, for me it was more of a stumble.

Seeing that I was struggling, Liam put an arm around my waist and guided me to the garden door and into the taxi. Inside the car, he told the driver my address, before settling back into his seat, watching me quietly from the side. "You don't have to stare at me." I told him without looking at him. My eyes were fixed on the cars that were passing us as we waited at a traffic light. "I promised Louis to bring you home safely and I like to keep my promises." After I didn't reply he continued. "You remind me a lot of my younger sister. She sometimes needs someone to take care of her as well." I turned my head to look at him and he smiled at me.

"I'm sorry for being such a mess, Liam." I apologised to him and even had the decency to blush. "Don't apologise, love, we're all going through a rough time, from time to time. It's just important to have friends who care for you and support you." I smiled at him and nodded, before looking back out of the window into the night. "That it is."


	51. The Apology Or How I Wrote Harry A Letter

Dear Harry,

I wish I would have had the courage to return any of your calls or to pick up my phone and reply to your texts, but I didn't. I don't even have a really good excuse for ignoring you for the past two weeks, other than the fact that I'm probably one of the worst friends you could possible have. 

I know you only wanted to help me on New Year's Eve and the fact that you care so much scares the heck out of me. When I tell someone that I'm fine, they usually believe me or at least drop the topic, but you are different.   
I'm still trying to figure out if it's a good different or not, but that doesn't change the fact that you care enough to call my mother of all people after you didn't get through to me through any of our mutual friends. And that made me feel so guilty that I decided I couldn't hide from you any longer (my mum also threatened to disown me if I kept ignoring your calls).

So here is me trying to make up for what I did. I imagining you sitting opposite me, staring at me with your insanely green eyes, giving me a concerned but encouraging smile.

I'm sorry for hanging up on you. I know that was a very shitty thing to do. The only excuse I have is that I was very drunk and very upset that night and I knew you were right; I just didn't want to hear it. I hope you'll be able to forgive me one day.  
Okay, now that's out of the way, how about I update you a little bit on what I've been up to during the past two weeks? Since uni started again, I've thrown myself into work to keep my mind occupied and distracted when I'm not at work. I know that this isn't the best coping strategy- who am I kidding, I'm not coping at all-, but I don't know what else to do and I fear that I won't be able to handle it if I actually allowed myself to process what's happening.

My dad has been in hospital twice since you left, once on Louis' birthday and then again last week and it doesn't look good. I am so scared to lose him, Harry. I can't live without my dad.   
I can feel that his time is nearly over and I know that he feels that, too, but I can't go home at the moment even though I really really want to. We talk on the phone every day and sometimes I just read him a chapter of a book, but it's so hard to stay strong all the time.   
I haven't told you about this, and I'm not sure if others have, but my reason for not telling you is that I don't want you to worry about me. You don't need that extra burden in your life.   
Louis has been trying to take care of me and makes sure that I take breaks from time to time, but even he can't make me feel better most of the time.

I wish I could write more, but it's 2am in the morning and I should probably go back to sleep.

All the best for your audition, I know you'll be amazing, just like you always are.

I miss you.

All the love, Claire

PS. It's now 5am and I still can't sleep, so I started looking through my old notebooks again and I found this quote and wanted to share it with you.

"and maybe music won't hold my hand, but it will cry with me and that's maybe all I really need" - r.i.d.


	52. Room 372 Or Saying Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, this was one of the most difficult chapters I ever wrote and I would like to apologise in advance for what you will read in this chapter. Please know that it wasn't an easy decision, but it felt like the right thing to do for the plot I have planned out. If you need someone to talk to, please feel free to message me any time. All the love, S

I didn't hear back from Harry for another two weeks, but rumours were flying around online that Harry Styles had gotten a part in a Christopher Nolan movie and I had sent him a text asking him how his audition went. Not hearing from him hurt, but I knew that I deserved the silent treatment after I had ignored him for two weeks and I was sure he had his own reasons for not replying.

I was lying own my sofa upside down, as you do, so that my legs were propped up against the back of the sofa, my hair nearly touching the ground, while I was eating some crisps, contemplating my life and my feelings for Louis. My computer was quietly playing music in the background, just loud enough so that it was audible over the pouring rain outside. Unfortunately, winter in London didn't always mean snow and cold. Most of the time it was just rainy and cold and the cold wind made you think twice before you went outside.

My phone rang and I lazily reached out my hand, trying to get a hold of it without moving too much. "MUM" was flashing across the screen and I felt a sinking sensation inside of me, fearing that this would be the call I had been fearing for years. I took a deep breath, before I answered the phone. "Hi, mum." There was a short silence at the other end of the line. "Mum?" I asked hesitantly and I heard a sniff. "Claire, it's... it's dad, Claire. He just had a stroke and the doctors are not sure if he will make it until tomorrow morning and I..." She burst into tears and I quickly sat up, nearly falling off the sofa in the process.

"Mum, it's okay. I'll drive up now. I'll be there in about two hours, okay? Stay strong, I love you, mum." I tried to stay as calm as possible, doing everything I could possibly do to ignore the news she had just given me. "Thank you. I love you, too. Drive safely!" I hung up on here and took a few deep breaths, trying to avoid the panic attack which was threatening to take over my body. When my breathing had gone back to normal, I jumped up and sprinted into my room, randomly throwing some clothes and other necessaries into one of my bags, before leaving a short note for Lily on the kitchen table.

The drive up to Norwich seemed endless and I tried to distract myself by listening to some music on the radio, but the only thing I could think about was my dad. I couldn't allow myself to feel anything, or to process why I was driving up to the hospital right now, because otherwise I would never make it there. After two long hours, I finally pulled up in front of the hospital and immediately rushed inside, making the woman at the reception look up.

"Hi, I am here to see my dad? Richard Winters, he was submitted about three hours ago." I told her and forced myself to smile, which she returned. "He is on ICU, room 372, love. It's on level three and then the first door on your right, but you will need to sign in with the nurses." I nodded and had already started to turn around, when she called me back. "Miss? Are you okay? You are incredibly pale." She shot me a concerned look and I tried to give her, what I thought was a reassuring smile, and nodded. "I'm fine, thank you." She didn't look entirely convinced, but let me go anyway.

Too impatient to wait for the lift, I sprinted up the stairs instead, probably looking like a mad woman with my yoga pants, Louis' oversized Adidas hoodie and my winter boots on, my hair in a messy bun, loose strands sticking out like little antennas. Slightly out of breath, I stopped in front of the reception desk, my hands clutching my sides. A work out was really overdue and I would have laughed at myself if I hadn't been on ICU to say goodbye to my dad. A nurse came out of the nurses' office behind the counter and walked over to me, giving me a kind smile which I tried to return as well as I could.

"Hi, how can I help you?" she asked me in a kind voice, patiently waiting until I had caught my breath. "Hi, my name is Claire Winters. I am here to see my dad, Richard Winters." I told her, my voice shaking slightly. She looked at a plan behind the counter where all of the rooms and their patients were listed. "Are you his daughter?" I nodded and she made a little note on the board, before she walked around the counter. "I'm Lynda, the nurse who is looking after your dad this afternoon. Now, I have to warn you, this might be a bit overwhelming for you, okay? He has a couple of machines which help him breath and monitor his oxygen and heartbeat, etc, so it might look a bit scary at first, okay? If there is anything I can do for you or if you need someone to talk to I'm here for you, alright?" My throat was closing up and I felt my tears threatening to spill over, but I pushed my feelings away, trying not stay strong, not only for me, but also for my mum as well.

Lynda gave my arm a light squeeze, before she led me to a door with the number 372 on it. After a light knock, she quietly opened the door and stepped into the room, me right on her tail. "Hi, Martha, I brought Claire with me." My mum jumped up from her seat next to my dad's bed and pulled me into a tight hug. "I am so glad that you are here, Claire." I squeezed her back just as tightly, before I walked over to my dad's bed. "Hi, dad." I said quietly and took his hand into my own, carefully sitting down at the edge of the bed.

Behind me, I heard the door being closed and my mum's voice talking to Lynda in the hallway outside. "I wish you could hear me right now, but I guess, I'll just pretend that you are listening." I smiled weakly and tightened my grip on my dad's hand. For a few seconds, the only thing that could be heard was the beeping of the machines around us. "I knew that this was coming and I knew it would come soon, but I didn't expect to have to say goodbye so soon, dad. I will miss you so much." My voice broke and I angrily wiped away some tears that had escaped my eyes. "Who will believe in me now, dad? Who will be my mentor, my source of wisdom?" I chuckled a bit at my choice of words, while the tears kept running down my cheeks, completely unimpressed by my attempts to stop them.

"There is still so much I don't know about life, dad. I don't know what love is. I don't know who I will marry one day, or what job I will have. I wanted my kids to have you as a granddad! I don't know what I will do without you, I really, really don't. I have to take care of mum, now, and you know how stubborn she can be, dad. Do you remember when we played this prank on her a couple of years ago and she refused to cook for a whole week and we tried to cook ourselves until she refused to eat pasta for a fourth night in a row?" I smiled through my tears as I remembered how furious my mum had been.

"I will miss you, dad." I gave his hand one last squeeze and a light kiss on his forehead, before I quickly dried my tears and got up, suddenly overcome by the feeling of not being able to breathe within the four walls of the room. When I opened the door, my mum poked her head out of the sitting room for relatives, concern written all over her face. "Are you okay, honey?" I nodded and then shook my head and then nodded again. "Come here." She opened her arms and pulled me into a hug. "We'll get through this. We always do. He wouldn't want us to give up now." I nodded and she pulled away and gave me a light kiss on the forehead.

"I'll go back in, but you take as much time as you need, okay?" I gave her a weak smile and walked over into the sitting room, sitting down on a sofa next to the window which was overlooking the field that surrounded the hospital. Lynda came in quietly and put a big mug of tea down in front of me, before giving me a smile and leaving me alone with my thoughts. I considered calling Louis for a minute, or Harry, but I couldn't bring myself to talk to them because then I would have to admit that I wasn't doing as well as I was pretending and I couldn't bring myself to say the words out loud.

I sat there for at least an hour, just sipping on my tea, unable to convince myself to go back into my dad's room. I had said my goodbyes and I wasn't sure if I was able to go back in and do it all over again. Another reason was the fact that I wanted to give my mum some time alone with my dad. He was the love of her life and I couldn't even imagine what she was going through, but maybe she wanted some company and I felt like I should at least offer it, so I slowly made my way to his room. On the way, I dropped off my empty mug at the reception, thanking Lynda, before I hesitantly opened the door to my dad's room, after knocking first.

"Claire, come in. You can grab a chair from over there and sit on his other side." My mum gave me a small smile and I could see how grateful she was for my presence, so I forced myself to sit down on the chair next to my dad's bed. "Are you okay, mum?" I asked her quietly and she looked up. "I'll be fine, Claire, don't worry about me." I didn't say anything in return, but we both knew that she was lying. None of us were fine, but we had to stay strong, for the other one and for ourselves as well. "Are you missing anything important at university this afternoon, honey?" She asked me in an attempt to uphold a causal conversation when our thoughts were clearly with the person lying in the bed between us. "Just a meeting with my tutor, but I emailed her and explained the situation and she told me not to worry about anything."

My mum nodded and then jumped when two of my dad's machines started beeping loudly, causing Lynda to poke her head through the door in alarm. I kept my eyes focused on my dad, trying to ignore the beeping of the machines and Lynda's and my mum's conversation, until a hand on my shoulder made me jump.

"Honey, he is... he is, gone." Lynda said carefully, keeping a firm grip on my shoulder. It took a few seconds until her words had gotten through to me, my brain unable to process what she had said. I felt like I was in a trance, everything around me happening in slow motion. My mum, who was sobbing next to me, the flat line on the machine that had monitored my dad's heartbeat, Lynda's soothing voice in my ear and a second nurse, who was carefully guiding my mum out of the room, all of them seemed far away and I felt like my brain was filled with fog, not allowing a single thought.

"Claire?" Lynda's concerned voice became a bit louder, making me snap out of my trance-like state. "Are okay? Is there anyone you would like me to call?" I shook my head and took one final look at my dad, pressing a light kiss to his forehead. "Goodbye, dad." Still in shock, I slowly walked out of the room, passing the sitting room where a nurse was trying to calm down my mum, but I didn't stop, simply kept walking out of the ward and outside into the cold, needing to get away from the ward as quickly as possible.

Behind the hospital, I sat down on a bench overlooking the surrounding fields, pulling my knees up to my chest, blindly starring into the distance. I didn't know how long I had sat there until I felt someone sitting down beside me, but I didn't look up to see who it was. After a few seconds however, the person opened their mouth, making my head snap up. "Aren't you cold out here?" a deep voice asked beside me. When I looked up, a pair of green eyes were looking down at me with concern and a few seconds later my whole world came crashing down on me.


	53. Apologies Or How Harry And I Shared A Jacket

After a few seconds however, the person opened their mouth, making my head snap up. "Aren't you cold out here?" a deep voice asked beside me. When I looked up, a pair of green eyes were looking down at me with concern and a few seconds later my whole world came crashing down on me. 

********

Without hesitation, Harry pulled me into him, letting me sob into his chest. I was holding onto him as if I was drowning and he was my lifeline. He opened his jacket and pulled me into his lab, closing the jacket around the two of us, just holding me while I was finally breaking down. "Shhhh, Claire, just let it out, it's okay, just let it all out." I felt him press a light kiss on top of my hair and soothingly stroke my back. When I could think a bit more clearly again, I vaguely wondered how Harry was here in that moment, but I still wasn't able to speak. After a few minutes, my tears slowly stopped flowing down my cheeks, and my sobs died down, leaving me a red-eyed mess in Harry Styles arms.

"I'm sorry." I croaked out and I immediately felt him shake his head. "No, no, no, you have nothing to be sorry for, okay, love? Absolutely nothing. I am the one who is sorry, that I couldn't be here earlier." He pressed another kiss to my head and rested my cheek against his chest. "I am sorry I ruined your sweater, though." My voice sounded hoarse and reflected very much how I felt. Harry's chest vibrated a bit and I could hear him chuckle. "Only you would apologise for something like that right now, God, I missed you, you little weirdo." I blushed a bit and was very glad he couldn't see me. "How are you feeling?" he asked me quietly and pulled away a little bit, as much as it was possible with his half-closed jacket around us anyway, to give me a concerned look. "Numb."

I didn't meet his eyes and instead concentrated on his lips, which wasn't a very good idea either, but everything was better than looking him in the eyes right now. A long finger gently pushed my chin up, forcing me to meet Harry's green eyes. "It's okay not to feel okay, alright? I obviously can't understand what you are feeling right now, but please don't shut me out, Claire, okay? Please don't do that." His gaze was very intense and I tried my best to ignore any feelings I had buried inside of me, good and bad. "I'm okay, Harry. See, I already cried, okay? Now I just gotta help my mum with the funeral and..." My eyes went wide and tried to jump up, but Harry's strong arms and his jacket held me in place. "My mum! I need to go and see her! She needs me, I need to look after her, I...!" But Harry placed a finger on my lips and effectively shut me up. "Claire, calm down, love." But I didn't listen and tried to free my arms to somehow open the jacket. "Hey! Claire, look at me." I stopped in my tracks and looked up at Harry, suddenly aware of how close his face was. His eyelashes seemed endless and his lips were even pinker that close.

"Your grandma is looking after your mum right now okay? She is being looked after and the only thing you need to do right now, is look after yourself, do you understand me?" he asked me and I nodded, but opened my mouth to protest. "But-" I started off, but Harry cut me off again. "No, no but. If you won't let me help you, then at least let someone else help you, Claire, like Lily or Louis. But bottling it all up is a very bad coping mechanism. Isn't that what you wrote in the letter? Or was that just something you wrote to make yourself feel better about yourself?" He sounded a little bit bitter and I felt my eyes tearing up again, feeling the guilt and all of the other feelings threatening to overwhelm me. "God, I am sorry, I didn't mean that, Claire!" Harry apologised at once. "Shit, I am the worst friend ever. I am so sorry, love, I snapped. You apologised and I already forgave you long before I read your letter, shit, I am sorry." He rambled on and gave me a crooked smile, which always managed to get to me, and I took a shaky breath.

"I really am sorry, you know?" I asked him, suddenly really shy, and hid my face behind my hair which was framing my face, the band that had held it together long gone. I felt him shift slightly underneath me, before he replied. "I know, and I am sorry that I snapped at you, love. I was just very worried about you." His voice was suddenly a bit hoarse and he cleared his throat, before he lifted his hand and almost automatically brushed my hair out of my face. His fingers lingered on my cheek for a moment, before he cleared his throat again and reached behind me, carefully unzipping the jacket surrounding us.

The cold air hit my back and I shivered a bit, automatically cuddling closer into Harry, who chuckled a bit. "I think we need to get you inside, love." I nodded, but didn't move. I felt completely exhausted and emotionally drained and tried to push any feelings to the back of my mind, unable to deal with them right now. He moved a bit underneath me and a few seconds later I was lifted up into the air, making my eyes snap open again. "What are you doing? I can walk!" I insisted and tried to move, but Harry was holding me bridal style and made it basically impossible for me to move. 

"Stop moving around, or I'll drop you. You are exhausted and I am just taking you to my car if that's okay with you?" he asked me and I nodded. "I don't want to go back in there." I whispered almost inaudibly and leaned my head against his shoulder while he carefully walked around the building towards the car park. "I know, I'll just take you to the car where we'll warm you up a little bit and then we'll talk to your mum and see what happens next, okay?" I nodded again and closed my eyes, suddenly overcome by a wave of tiredness.

Before I slipped into unconsciousness, a thought popped up in my head and I opened my eyes again, Harry's green ones already looking down at me. "How are you even here, H?" I asked him and a light smile flashed across his face at the sound of the nickname. "Your mum texted me earlier because she thought you might need someone when you were sitting in the visitors' room, but I didn't get here fast enough and then she texted me again saying that you had gone missing and asked me to look for you and here I am." He smiled down at me, his eyes twinkling a bit, and I blushed and quickly closed my eyes again. "Thank you for always being there for me." I thanked him quietly and hid my face in his chest. "Anything for you, love." were the last words I heard before the darkness embraced me, leaving me asleep in Harry Styles arms.


	54. Through The Glass Wall Or How I Pretended To Be Asleep

I woke up in what felt like a bed to two voices quietly arguing next to me. "Why the fuck didn't you call me earlier? And why the fuck were you there first?" Louis' angry voice sounded through the room in a loud whisper. I resisted the temptation to open my eyes and pretended to be still asleep, waiting for Harry's answer. "Because her mother called me, okay? Claire left her phone in the hospital and I was the first contact she recognised in Claire's phone apart from Lily who she didn't get through to because she was working. It's not my fucking fault, mate, okay? And keep your voice down or you'll wake her up." Harry hissed, clearly angry at Louis, and I could hear someone walk across the room.

"Of course she'd fucking call you! You two are best buddies, aren't you? Claire depends on you so much and even talks about you when you aren't there and you are running after her like a puppy, like you are in love with her or something like that." There was a long silence during which I nearly exploded with feelings and anxiety while desperately trying to pretend to be asleep. "That's it, isn't it?" Louis asked quietly, his voice shaking a bit. "You are in love with my fucking girlfriend." My heart was beating so loudly I was sure it could be heard by the others, but I kept my eyes closed and tried to breathe slowly, in and out, in and out. It felt like every little cell in my body was tense while we were both waiting for Harry's answer.

"Look, mate, it's not what it looks like..." Harry started but he was interrupted by Louis before he could finish his sentence. "I can't believe this! One of my best friends is in love with my girlfriend, now isn't that fucking amazing?" Louis chuckled bitterly. He sounded hurt and I didn't know what to feel but I really wanted to give him a hug. However, I was even more desperate to hear what Harry had to say on that topic. "Lou, calm the fuck down, okay? Yes, I really like Claire, but only as a friend, in a brother-sister sort of way, alright? There is nothing going on between the two of us! I told you back in September that I would never go for a girl that you are with, even if I did like her. I wouldn't do that to you, mate! So the next time before you make an assumption, ask first and don't throw shit at me when you don't know the whole story. And since when have you asked her to be your girlfriend?!"

I suddenly felt like crying and I didn't know why. My throat was closing up and I felt my eyes tearing up again, but I blamed the latest events for that. There was a shuffle and then Louis spoke up again. "I'm sorry, mate, I shouldn't have freaked out like that. And I actually haven't asked her to be my girlfriend yet, I was planning on taking her out on Sunday and asked her at the end of the date. I guess, I just got a bit jealous when I saw how close you two are because I sometimes feel like you share a deeper connection than we two."

A few seconds no one said anything. "Well, I can't exactly blame you, you know? If I had an amazing girl like her I also would do anything to keep her and marry her one day." I could hear the smile in Harry's voice and decided that it was a good time to "wake up", before they could continue their argument. I started moving and slowly opened my eyes, yawning and stretching my limps. I let my eyes wander around the room and realised that I was lying in my old bed room at my parents, well now only my mum's house. Feeling a wave of sadness and loss threatening to overwhelm me, I closed my eyes again and took a deep breath.

When I opened them again, I was met with two concerned pair of eyes who were looking down at me. "Hey, love, are you okay?" asked Louis in the same moment as Harry asked "Feeling any better, love?" I chuckled a bit and they exchanged a look. In that moment, I realised the irony of the situation. I had two members of One Direction in my old bedroom, which had a whole wall dedicated to their lyrics, while I was lying in my bed after saying my last goodbyes to my dad. Without warning, I burst into laughter and once I had started, I couldn't stop. Harry and Louis exchanged a concerned look before they tried to talk to me. "Claire? Are you okay, love?" Louis sat down the edge of my bed and took my hand into his. Harry's head was poking over his shoulder, his green eyes filled with concern.

For some reason this view of the two of them made me laugh even more and I shook my head while the tears were running down my face. I couldn't stop laughing and the boys were starting to get seriously worried about me. Harry kneed down next to my bed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, Claire! Look at me!" I turned my head to face him and suddenly, out of nowhere, I started crying again, my laughter quickly turning into sobs. Harry reached out, but Louis was faster and pulled me into his lab where he rocked me back and forth while I cried into his chest. "I'll go and get her some water." I heard Harry's voice behind me and felt Louis nod before the door closed behind Harry, leaving me alone with Louis.

"Hey, Claire, you're gonna be okay, everything is gonna be okay. I'm here for you." He gently stroked my back, but I continued to ruin his t-shirt. "My dad's dead, Louis." I managed to say, my voice breaking at the end of the sentence. "My dad is dead!" A new wave of loss overcame me and I silently sobbed into Louis chest, not being able to take the pain anymore. "It hurts so much, Louis, it hurts so much." I felt him press a kiss to my head while he continued to rock me back and forth. "Shhhh." He tried to soothe me, but I felt like I was bleeding on the inside. There was this big hole inside my chest, which felt like someone had ripped a part out of me. "Make it stop, please make it stop." I sobbed and I heard Louis sigh underneath me before he shifted to make me look him in the eyes. "Claire, listen to me. I know you are hurting right now, but you will be okay, alright? I am here for you and so is Harry and your mum and Lily and everyone else." He gently cupped my face with his hands, forcing me to look at him.

My gaze was fixed on him, but I didn't really see him. It was as if he behind a glass wall or something like that. I saw his mouth moving, but I didn't hear a single word that he was saying. "Claire, hey!" I barely noticed that Harry had entered the room again and distantly heard Louis talk to him. "She is not reacting to anything, I think she is in shock." Harry's concerned face appeared next to Louis. "Claire, love, look at me." Harry gently turned my head to face him. "Claire, snap out of it. You are okay, you are here. You are alive. We are here to help you, Claire." They seemed to be so far away and even though I wanted to react, my body didn't seem to be working properly.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain whip across my cheek and the impact made me close my eyes. When I opened them again, I was suddenly back in my room and my hand moved up to my cheek which was burning. "Claire, can you hear me?" I looked to my right and saw Louis's concerned eyes look at me and nodded. "Are you okay, love? I am sorry for slapping you, but you wouldn't snap out of it and you started to breath weirdly." Harry apologised next to me and I silently told him that it was fine. "It hurts so much." I whispered hoarsely and leaned my head against Louis chest, still facing Harry.

He gently took my hands into his big ones and gave them a light squeeze. "I know, love, but we are here for you and we are not going anywhere." He gave me a reassuring smile before silently communicating something with Louis. Rising to his feet, he brushed off the dust off his knees. "I'll make us some dinner downstairs, just come downstairs in fifteen minutes, alright?" Louis agreed for both of us, before Harry disappeared downstairs again, quietly closing the door behind him.


	55. Kitchen Talks Or How I Found My Anchor

Dinner was very quiet. I wasn't hungry and only pretended to eat while the other two seemed to have skipped at least a meal, which came in handy for me, because they weren't really paying any attention to how much I was eating. From time to time I felt their eyes on me, but for the most part they left me alone while they quietly talked among themselves, obviously trying to give me some space. "Where is my mum staying?" I suddenly asked, making their heads snap up. "She is staying with your grandma. They will be coming over tomorrow to organise everything for the funeral. They are trying to hold it as soon as possible, potentially even next week." Louis explained carefully, unsure of how much he could say without upsetting me.

"Okay." I said quietly and went back to poking my food a little bit. When the other two had finished I quickly carried my plate into the kitchen and disposed of the food before they could follow me. I started filling the sink with water to wash the dishes when I was gently pushed out of the way by Louis. "Here, let me do this, love. You can go upstairs and get ready for bed. And maybe you could show Harry where the spare sheets are so he can make himself a bed on the couch?" I only nodded and he pressed a light kiss to cheek, before shooing me out of the kitchen. 

Harry was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs and silently followed me into my bed room. I opened my closet and climbed inside, my legs sticking out of the closet in to the air, to get to the sheets at the very back. "Do you need any help, love?" came Harry's amused voice from behind me and he had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing, when he saw me emerge from my search inside the closet. My hair was sticking into every possible direction and I was tangled up into a few sheets and a spare blanket and pillow. I sent him a glare and dumped the pile into his arms. "Here, your sheets, my Lord." A smirk appeared on his face and he was clearly happy that I was feeling well enough to at least attempt to joke around. "Why, thank you, my Lady." He did a mock bow before he disappeared down the stairs again to make himself a bed on the couch.

I grabbed a pair of pyjamas and got ready for bed as soon as possible, desperately wanting to escape the pain for a couple of hours. After I was finished in the bathroom, returned to the living room to say goodnight and found the two boys, or should I say young man, sitting at the table hunched over a piece of paper from which they looked up when they saw me approach. "Hey, love." Louis gave me a wide smile, which I tried to return but I failed miserably and he opened his arms and pulled me onto his lab. "Good night, love. I'll join you in a bit if that's okay with you?" he asked me and I nodded into his chest. He pulled away a bit and after a glance in Harry's direction pressed a chased kiss to my lips before he let go of me. Harry pulled me into a tight hug, as well, and I hugged him back just as tightly, really needing to be held tonight. Night, love." He pressed a kiss on top of my head, before letting go off me and I climbed off his lab and made my way to the door. At the door, I turned around one last time. "Please come soon." I said quietly in Louis' direction, before I quickly walked back up the stairs and closed the door behind me.

Not even bothering to turn on the lights, I climbed into my bed and snuggled into my warm blankets. The dark had something comforting about it but it also meant no distraction and without wanting it, I felt the hot tears silently running down my cheeks within seconds, damping my pillow. After what could have been anything between a few minutes and hours, I heard the door open and close again and a few seconds later the bed dipped down under Louis' weight. "Claire?" he whispered and I took a shaky breath. He shifted a bit and a few seconds later, his fingers gently caressed my cheek and wiped away the tears. "Hey, love, come here." He pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly and offering the comfort, I so desperately needed. "I'm here for you, love." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and gently stroked my hair to calm me down. "Try to get some sleep now, love, you'll need it tomorrow." He whispered into my ear, before he quietly started humming Little Things and a few seconds later I was asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night after a nightmare, feeling like I couldn't breathe. As carefully as possible, I snuck out of Louis' arms and quietly made my way downstairs into the kitchen where I filled myself a glass of water. Looking out of the window into the dark night, I leaned against the sink and tried to control my breathing, my hands gripping the edge of the sink. It felt like the room was closing up on me and a silent sob escaped my lips before my legs didn't seem to be able to hold my weight anymore, making me sink onto the cold kitchen floor.

The kitchen door opened and a few seconds later, I was pulled into a warm chest, strong arms wrapping themselves around me. "Shhhhh, it's okay. You will be okay, love." Harry's soothing voice whispered into my ear. I shook my head, my body still shaking violently like a leave in the wind. "I hate this, I hate being so weak." I managed to whisper into his neck. "I know you do, love, but you are not weak. None of this makes you weak, Claire. Everyone hurts in a different way and it's far better to let it all out than to bottle it all up like you normally do. You are not weak, okay? You are one of the strongest people I know and I will always be here for you when you need a shoulder to cry on, okay?" Nodding, I tried to concentrate on his breathing, my eyes focused on the left swallow on his chest, rising and falling with every breath he took.

"Are you still up for getting that tattoo?" I asked him out of the blue after a few minutes and I could hear the surprise, but also the smile in his voice when he replied. "How could I possibly forget about that? Why are you asking, do you want to get it now?" He shifted a bit and gently readjusted me on his lab. "Yes, do you think we could go sometime soon?" I asked him timidly and hid my face in his chest. "I'll call the artist I wanted to get it done by tomorrow if you like to and you could check out his designs or the ones of his colleague and see if you like the style. If not, we'll look for someone else until you find the one you are looking for. I'd still accompany you, of course." He reassured me and I smiled a bit at the thought. "That sounds great, thank you." A light kiss was pressed to the top of my head, making my heart flutter. "No problem, Claire."

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until I felt myself getting tired again, the comfortableness of Harry's lap and chest not really helping the situation. "I think I should go back to bed." I said quietly and he hummed and helped me get up. Shivering in the kitchen without the warmth of Harry's body, I wrapped my arms around me and watched him stand up as well. "Thank you for, well, you know..." My voices turning into a mumble by the end of the sentence, my cheeks burning up. The kitchen floor had suddenly become really fascinating and I kept my eyes focused on it until I felt Harry's breath fanning over my face.

Looking up, I realised how close our faces were, our noses nearly touching, his green eyes staring down into my own with a fond smile on his face. I let out a breath, I didn't know I was holding, and closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them again, I saw Harry's eyes briefly wandering down to my lips before he cleared his throat and took a step back. "You know I'll always be there for you, love." I smiled at him, this time a real smile, and after a moment of silence, I turned around and quickly walked back upstairs into my room. 

Before I shut the door behind me, I threw one last look over my shoulder down the stairs where I was met with a pair of green eyes staring back up at me. "Good night, Harry." I whispered into the darkness and waved a bit, which he returned before I shut the door behind me and climbed back into my bed. Louis stirred in his sleep and groggily opened his eyes, shooting me a concerned look. "Are you okay, love?" I nodded and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before I snuggled closer into his chest, falling asleep within seconds.

However, downstairs in the living room, Harry Styles lay awake until the early hours of the next morning, his mind occupied with contradicting thoughts about love and friendship and the other half taken up by his worry for the girl who was sleeping upstairs in the arms of his best friend.


	56. The Funeral Or How I Have To Be The Strong One Sometimes

The next few days passed in a blur. I was constantly pretending to be okay when I really wasn't doing well at all. After another day of looking after me, I had convinced both, Harry and Louis, to go back home to their own lives, while I put mine on pause to help my mum with the preparations for the funeral. Successfully managing to lock my feelings somewhere they couldn't get to me, I was feeling like a robot, passing through life without allowing myself to feel anything. I knew I wouldn't always have someone by my side to hold me when I was falling apart and I couldn't rely on myself right now, so I'd rather not deal with anything at all. 

The night before the funeral, the house was filled with people and all I wanted was curl up in my bed and somehow shut the world out. Instead, I was walking around the living room, offering tea to friends and relatives of my dad, while trying to ignore the pitiful looks they were giving me. Lily, Louis, Harry and Niall would be arriving tomorrow morning for the funeral and I couldn't wait to see them again. Niall had never met my dad, but he wanted to come anyway and support me and Lily, who had been like a second daughter to my dad and was equally devastated. 

I was dreading the funeral more than anything as it would put an end to my denial phase, that I was going through at the moment. Tomorrow, it would be impossible to keep pretending that my dad would somehow magically reappear again when I was standing in front of his coffin. Unable to force any food down my throat, I skipped dinner and successfully managed to hide upstairs in my room for the remainder of the night. As soon as everyone had left, I hopped into bed and only woke up once after one of my recurring nightmares which I had had since the day at the hospital. It took me at least two hours to recover from it and by the time I fell asleep again, it was nearly time to get up anyway.

The next morning, I put on my best black dress which looked just like something everyone would expect me to wear to a funeral, even though I would have preferred something a little more colourfull because I knew that was what my dad would have liked to see. Nevertheless, I tried to look as nice as possible in my dress and pulled my hair back into a high ponytail, not even bothering with makeup apart from a bit of concealer to hide the dark shadows underneath my eyes and a bit of blush to make me look less pale. After a final look in the mirror, I took a deep breath and hesitantly made my way downstairs, ready to face the day. 

I met my mum in the kitchen, who silently passed me a cup of tea before she fled to her bedroom again, not being able to take the awkwardness which had established itself between the two of us since Louis and Harry had left on Saturday. When it was time to leave, I gently knocked on her bedroom door and hesitantly pushed it open when I didn't get a reply. The sight in front of me broke my heart. My mum was sitting on her bed, hunched over with her face buried in her hands. She was silently sobbing, while trying to somehow keep her composure at the same time. 

"Mum?" I asked quietly and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her. When she didn't react, I gently pulled her into a hug and held her while she cried into my shoulder, taking on the role of the strong one for now. We sat in silence for a couple of minutes until she had calmed down enough to say something. "I'm sorry, Claire." She hiccuped and gave my hand a light squeeze. "No, mum, it's fine! Seriously, don't apologise for hurting over something you had no control over." I assured her and gave her a weak smile which she hesitantly returned. "Alright, let's do this." She straightened her back and held up her head, suddenly looking strong and composed again.

I followed her to her car and we drove in silence until we arrived at the chapel where the service would take place. After one last reassuring look from me, my mum gracefully climbed out of the car and was immediately embraced by mum grandma. I took a deep breath and tried to convince myself to leave the car when a knock on my window made me look up. Lily was standing outside the car and motioned for me to unlock the door, which I did at once. Without even having to say a single word, she pulled me into a tight hug which said everything she didn't say out loud. We held onto each other for at least a minute, before she pulled away. "Thank you." I thanked her quietly and she nodded and pushed a folded piece of paper into my hand, before she was called over by Niall who was struggling with something in his car. 

I stood in front of the car, rooted to the spot and felt like I was about to throw up any second. People shot me pitiful glances every now and then but apparently I looked really unapproachable because no one dared to come over and talk to me. A warm hand slipped into mine and when I looked up, I saw Louis' concerned eyes looking down at me. "Hey, love." He pressed a chased kiss to my forehead and let his eyes wander over my pale face and my body before he frowned. "Will you be okay in there?" he asked me quietly and nodded to the chapel which people had started to enter while the bells ringing. Unable to say anything, I only nodded and tightened my grip around his hand, letting him lead me into the chapel.

Before I walked through the doors, I let my eyes wander over the people still left in the car park, frantically looking for Harry, but I couldn't spot him anywhere, so I followed Louis inside, letting his hand guide me through the mass of pitiful stares and whispers. We took a seat at the very front, next to my mum and my grandparents who were sitting on both sides of her, leaving some space for us at the very left of the bank.

Just as the service was about to start, I felt another big, warm hand slip into mine. I didn't even have to turn my head to know who had just arrived. My mum gave Harry a thankful smile and when I turned around, I saw Lily give me an encouraging nod. I felt Harry's thumb gently stroke the back of my hand in a soothing kind of manner and gave it a light squeeze which he returned. Then the music started and it was time to say goodbye. 

The service was beautiful. My mum and I had picked out my dad's favourite songs and the minister who was doing the service told some funny anecdotes and stories which made us all laugh or at least smile from time to time. "And now Claire, Richard's daughter, would like to say a few words." I let go of Louis' and Harry's hands and hesitantly made my way up to the front. I hated public speaking, but this was something I needed to do and I knew that my dad would have appreciated it. The minister gave me an encouraging smile before he sat down at the side. Looking around at the faces, some familiar and some completely unfamiliar, I nervously cleared my throat and caught Harry's eyes who gave me an encouraging nod.

"My dad was one of the best people I know. He was kind, compassionate, brave, funny and always treated everyone with respect, no matter who they were and what they had done. That is one of the qualities I admired most about him. He always had something kind to say and saw the good in people, especially when they couldn't see it themselves." I looked at my mum who nodded and wiped her eyes with a tissue, before I continued. "I never thought I would have to say goodbye so quickly. My dad was my biggest role model and my mentor and I am so thankful for everything he taught me over the years, from how to ride a bike to how to never give up and chase my dreams." I let out a shaky breath and closed my eyes for a second to compose myself. 

"We have lost an amazing human being, we lost a friend, a brother, a son, an uncle, a husband and a dad. I would like to read you two things which sum up how I feel right now. The first one is from my favourite TV show, the Vampire Diaries, something that my dad always teased me about, because let's face it, who could possibly care about vampires, werewolves and witches to a point where you would sit crying in your room because a character died? He actually walked in on me once and thought I had a serious problem and then started laughing at me when he found out that one of my favourite characters had died. To be fair, he did hug me and made me a cup of tea afterwards." I smiled a bit at the memory and a couple of people chuckled.

"Anyway, this is the first thing I want to read and I thing it sums up how many of us are feeling right now. It's something my favourite character said after his best friend died. 'Because in the end, when you lose somebody, every candle, every prayer is not gonna make up for the fact that the only thing you have left is a hole in your life where that somebody that you cared about used to be.'" My tears were threatening to spill over and when I looked at my mum again, I saw that tears were silently running down her face. I cleared my throat and continued.

"The second thing I would like to read you is something I wrote myself. It's called 'The Bells'." I caught Louis' eyes and he gave me an encouraging nod and then looked over to Harry who mouthed "You can do this." Taking a deep breath, I started to read my poem. 

"Listen, listen!  
Can't you hear the bells?  
\- They ring!  
Black, just black, wherever you look  
Don't you know what they took?  
They took him  
My mentor, my guide and my friend  
They took him  
He, who will never speak again  
He's gone now, gone  
Never coming back  
And we stand here  
Mourning, all wearing black  
But listen, listen!  
Don't you cry no more  
For he's gone not very far at all!  
We'll always keep him here  
Right in our hearts  
As we move on with our loves  
But never forget him,  
His strength, kindness and caring heart."

I didn't dare to look at anyone in the room and kept my eyes down while I walked back to my seat. "Thank you, Claire, that was very beautiful." said the minister and then asked everyone to stand up for a prayer. I squeezed in between Harry and Louis and immediately felt Louis' hand wrap itself around my own, giving me the support I needed. The prayer started and I felt myself shaking a little bit, until a warm, big hand was placed on my lower back, providing a subtle comfort. 

"Thank you everyone. This last song was chosen by Martha who would like to ask you to join her and Claire for a last goodbye outside." Everyone kept standing and silently watched as four men in black suits walked up to the front and hoisted my dad's coffin onto their shoulders. Craig Armstrong's 'Glasgow Love Theme' was playing in the background and I was desperately clinging onto Louis, Harry close on my other side, as I followed my mum and the coffin outside into the cemetery. 

Everyone else followed us silently and watched as my dad was put to his final rest. My mum was the first one to step up to the coffin and carefully threw a single white rose on top of my dad's coffin, before she stepped aside. I let go of Louis, knowing that I had to do this on my own. Slowly, I walked up to the grave and let a white envelope with a goodbye letter fall into the grave. "Goodbye, dad." I whispered silently, before I walked over to my mum and pulled her into a tight hug, trying to take away a bit of the pain she was feeling while my heart was aching so much that I felt like I was gonna break down every second myself, but I didn't allow myself to cry, not when I wasn't sure if I could ever stop.

"Thank you for joining us today, there will be tea and coffee in the parish hall for everyone who would like to stay for a bit." The minister told everyone and everyone slowly made their way over to the house next to the chapel, quietly talking among themselves. "Mum?" I asked quietly and she let go off me and looked up. "I don't think I can do this right now. Would you mind if I went home?" She gave me a weak smile and shook her head. "No, honey, I'll be fine. You take care of yourself and maybe take your friends with you?" she suggested and gave me a kiss on the cheek, before she walked over to my grandparents and guided them into the house.

I looked around and waved Lily, Niall, Louis and Harry over to where I was standing. Lily pulled me into a tight hug and the others followed her example. "Thank you, guys. It really means a lot that you came." I admitted quietly and looked around. "Of course are here for you, love." Louis assured me and pulled me into his side, pressing a light kiss to my forehead. "I can't go in there right now and my mum suggested to go back to our place and maybe watch a movie, or just talk or something?" I asked them and when everyone agreed, we split up into two groups, Niall and Lily in his car and Harry, Louis and me in the other one.

"Are okay, love?" asked Harry from the driver's seat and looked at me through the rear-view mirror. I thought about this for a few seconds before I gave him a smile, not a big one, but a smile that reached my eyes. "I will be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first thing Claire reads is from The Vampire Diaries, 6x02, and the second one is something I wrote myself for my granddad's funeral.


	57. Pigs Can Fly Or Happy Birthday Harry

It had only been a few days since the funeral, but I really needed to get back to London because my dissertation was coming closer and closer and I really needed to start my research. It was also Harry's birthday this weekend and I wanted to do something special for him as a thank you for being such an amazing friend and for being there for me. I got Anne's and Gemma's phone numbers from Louis and had organised a little surprise party for Harry with a few of his closest friends, some of them coming all the way from L.A. just for the night. 

They were now all cramped in our tiny flat and literally piled up around the living room. I was on the phone to Harry and tried to convince him to come and pick me up so that his friends could get into his flat in the mean time with the food, drinks and presents we had all bought together. "Of course, I'll pick you up. Do you want to grab some food somewhere or something like that?" he asked me and I smiled at his thoughtfulness. "Nah, I'll be fine. We can just order takeaway again like the last time I was at your place if we get too hungry." He chuckled and I smiled at the memories. "Alright, I'll be there in twenty minutes, love." Anne shot me a questioning look and I nodded, which made her smile widely in return. "Thank you so much, I'll come downstairs, just text me when you're there." After saying our goodbyes, we both hung up and I walked back into the living room. 

"Oi, everybody listen up!" Twelve heads turned around to face me and I blushed a bit at the sudden attention. "Harry's on his way and will be here to pick me up in twenty minutes. After that you will have to drive to his house as fast as possible, while I'll try to convince him to buy some frozen yogurt or something like that to celebrate his birthday which he refuses to acknowledge otherwise this year." One of his friends shot me an approving look. "You're a smart one." He winked at me and I grinned and flipped my hair over my shoulder, until someone cleared his throat behind me. "Um, could I, could I talk to you for a second?"

Louis' hand slipped into mine and I nodded and guided him towards my bedroom. He quietly closed the door behind him and cleared his throat again. It almost seemed like he was nervous. "Is everything okay?" I asked him and took a step towards him and cupped his cheek with my hand. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. I've got to ask you something." My stomach erupted with butterflies and I put my hand down and looked up at him. "I know we haven't officially been on more than one date, but I really like you and I think we could make this work. I would love to show you off to the world as my girlfriend and introduce you everywhere as my favourite girl, so would you do me the honours of being my girlfriend?" 

My heart was beating so fast in my chest that I thought I would faint any second. I let out a breath, I didn't know I was holding, and smiled up at him. "I would love to be your girlfriend, Louis. Are you sure you want to be seen with me though?" I winked at him, half-jokingly, half serious. His face split into a wide smile and he grinned down at me, his blue eyes twinkling with happiness. "Of course I want to be seen with you, you idiot! Did you hear anything of what I just said? I like you, Claire. I like you a lot." I blushed deeply and he gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. "You have no idea how happy you just made me." I blushed even more, not that it was humanly possible, but I somehow managed it. "We'll make it work, love, okay? We'll start off in private and whenever you are ready, I'll get to show you off to the rest of the world." 

He pulled me closer and a few seconds later I felt his soft lips on mine. We kissed for a few seconds, until a knock on the door interrupted us. We pulled apart and Liam's head poked through the door, his curiosity turning into a wide smile when he saw us. "Did you finally grow the balls to ask her?" he asked Louis with a grin and Louis flipped him off, a faint blush on his cheeks. I giggled, yes, I actually giggled, and pinched his cheek. "Awww, Lou, don't be embarrassed. I think it's cute." I kissed his cheek and he pulled me in for another kiss, until Liam made choking sounds in the background. "You two sicken me, now, get yourselves together because Harry will be here any second, C." 

Grudgingly, we followed Liam back into the living room, Louis' hand tightly wrapped around mine, where we were welcomed with cheers and whistling. "Tommo finally asked her out! Pigs do fly!" Niall shouted from the other end of the room and Louis flipped him off as well and gave my hand a light squeeze, which I returned. Suddenly, my phone started to ring, playing Harry's special ringtone which was 'Twist And Shout' by The Beatles which made everyone laugh. "This is my special ringtone for him." I explained with a grin, before I answered the call, while everyone around me was silently laughing at my choice of ringtone.

"Hi, love, I'm outside." Harry's deep voice sounded through the speaker and I let go off Louis hand and rushed to the hall. "I'm almost there." I assured him, while I tried to slip into my winter boots with one hand on the phone. "You are only getting dressed now, aren't you?" Harry asked, clearly amused and I silently cursed him for knowing me so well. "Maybe?" I asked back and he laughed. "Don't worry, take your time, love." I finally managed to slip into the first shoe, unfortunately falling over in the process and my phone slipped out of my hand and landed on the floor with a loud thud. "Oh shit, I am so sorry, are you okay?" I asked him concerned, while I desperately tried to get into the second shoe, helped by Louis who had followed me into the hallway. "I think my left ear will never be the same, but apart from that I'm fine. I'll hang up and now and see you in a minute, okay?" I hummed in response and put the phone down.

"Goooood, I'm such a clumsy person, it's unbelievable!" Louis held out a hand and pulled me up, so that we were nose to nose. "But you are adorable." He pinched my cheek, clearly taking revenge for my pinching when Liam had walked in on us. "Thanks." I replied dryly and slipped into my coat, pulling a beanie over my head and quickly wrapping a scarf around my neck as well. "Shit, my present!" I rushed back into my room and quickly grabbed the wrapped present with the matching birthday card. Slightly out of breath, I came to a halt in front of Louis, who shook his head at me. "I'll see you in half an hour, love." He pressed a short kiss to my lips, before I rushed out of the door and down the stairs to Harry's car.

"Hi, birthday boy!" I greeted him with a wide grin and climbed into the car, before I quickly shut the door behind me. "Hi, love." His dimples were adorable and all I wanted was to poke them, but instead, I leaned over the gear shift and gave him a hug. "Happy birthday, Harry." I pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek and pulled back and made myself comfortable in my seat. "Soooo, any exciting plans for tonight? You only turn twenty-two once in your life." He rolled his eyes at my teasing and pulled out of the parking lot. "Not really, no, it's all up to you." He smirked at me, before his eyes focused back on the road. "Boo, you whore." I joked and he chuckled. "A 'Mean Girl' reference? Really, Claire?" I feigned hurt and put a hand over my chest. "It's a classic, Harry, not even you can deny it." I shot him a stern look and he grinned. "I actually quite like it, I just enjoy teasing you." 

Huffing, I crossed my arms over my chest, but I couldn't stay very quiet for long. "I really liked your tweet, earlier, by the way." I grinned and quietly hummed Taylor Swift's '22'. "Thank you, I thought it was quite good, myself." He seemed to be very proud of himself and I smiled at him. "Do you fancy froyo?" I suddenly asked him out of the blue and he turned his head in my direction. "Sure, why not? I know a good place close to my house that really tries to protect my privacy." I nodded in agreement and we spent the rest of the ride chatting about our days.

"Do you want to open your present now, or later?" I asked him, when he pulled up in front of the frozen yogurt place. "I think I'd rather do it now, I'm too curious to wait any longer." He admitted with a sheepish smile and I chuckled and handed him my wrapped present and my card . He carefully took them and opened the envelope and pulled out the card, while I watched him, suddenly very nervous as to what his reaction would be. "Nice design." He smirked at me and looked down at the photo of the two of us at the front of the card, both very drunk, but very happy after the last OTRA show. 

He opened the card and I watched his eyes wander down the lines I had written earlier that day. When he was finished he looked up and gave me a smile, excitement in his voice. "If this is what I think it is, I will love you for the rest of my life." I chuckled and gestured to the present. "Just open it already!" Like a little kid on Christmas Day, he unwrapped my gift, his whole face lighting up with excitement. "Claire, you didn't!" He looked up at me and then back down at the present. "But that's an original one from 1969! How did you get that?" He gently stroked one finger over the cover of the 'Abbey Road' by The Beatles record. 

"It was my dad's." I admitted quietly. "It was his favourite one and he listened to it very often so it's kind of scratched here and there, but I thought you might like it." I blushed a bit and he carefully put the record and my card on one of the backseats, before he pulled me into a tight hug. "You have no idea, how much that means to me, thank you, Claire." I smiled into his hug, but pulled away quickly. "Frozen Yogurt?" I asked him with a grin and he chuckled and opened the car door. "Frozen Yogurt, it is." 

We happily ate our frozen yogurt, making the other one try something from time to time, before we finally drove back to his house. The others had had nearly an hour now and I was very excited how the surprise party would turn out. Harry still didn't have a clue and I was trying really hard to hide the fact that I was silently freaking out. He parked his car in front of his house and quickly walked around to my side to open the car door for me. "Such a gentleman." I teased him and he did a mock bow, before we both burst out laughing. "Only for you, Miss Winters, only for you." I laughed and shook my head. "Liar, I know that you treat all women with respect." I saw a hint of a blush on his cheeks, not entirely sure though as it was difficult to see anything in the dark.

We walked up the stairs to his house and Harry unlocked his door, holding it open for me. The moment we stepped inside, the lights went on and everyone jumped into the hallway, yelling "Surprise!" Harry jumped at least a foot into the air, automatically pulling me behind him and even I jumped a little bit. "Jesus, guys, you scared the shit out of me!" The others laughed and Anne and Gemma made their way to the front. Harry's whole face lit up when he saw them and he pulled both of them into a hug. "Mum, Gemma! What are you all doing here?" He pulled away and everyone else congratulated him as well. 

"Claire thought you deserved a nice birthday party, mate." Liam piped in from the stairs and Harry turned around to face me. "You organised this?" he asked me and I nodded with a wide smile. With two big steps he was in front of me and pulled me into a tight hug. "Thank you." he whispered in my ear. "This is the best birthday present anyone could have made me." I smiled and pulled away, grinning up at him. "Even better than the record?" A grin spread across his face. "Even better than that."

Harry was ushered into the living room where the others had prepared food and drinks and Anne went back into the kitchen to light the candles on the birthday cake she had made. After I had taken my shoes off, I followed her. "Thank you so much for doing this for him, love." She thanked me when she noticed that I had entered the kitchen. "You are very welcome. He really deserves this." I told her and squeaked when two arms wrapped themselves around my waist from behind me. "Louis!" He chuckled and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Claire!" he mocked me and tickled me a bit, making me squirm in his grip. "Stop it!" Anne cleared her throat and I blushed and tried to get out of Louis' grip again, this time successfully. 

"Louis, would you mind lighting the candles? I need to use the bathroom really quickly before we bring out the cake." She held out the lighter towards him and he nodded and gave her a mildly embarrassed smile. "Of course, Anne." She gave him a thankful smile and shot me an amused look, before she left us alone in the kitchen. I silently watched, as Louis carefully lit one candle after another. There was a silence until he was finished and stepped back to admire the cake. "I feel like we need to take a photo of this. Anne did such a good job." I said from behind him and he jumped a little bit, making me smile. "Absolutely. Great idea!" Stepping forward, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and took a photo of the cake, before Anne entered the room again. "Oh thank you, Louis, that looks wonderful." He smiled at her and stepped back so that she could admire the cake as well. "I just lit the candles, you did the rest of the work." he complimented her. She nodded absentmindedly and counted the candles one more time.

"Louis, would you mind helping me carry the cake while Claire films the whole thing?" She asked us. "Sure." He stepped forward while I opened the camera app on my phone again and started filming when they stepped out of the kitchen. Everyone started to sing 'Happy Birthday' when we entered the living room, well everyone apart from me because I didn't want my voice to be heard on the recording later on. Harry's eyes widened at the beautiful cake. Anne and Louis walked up to him and when the others had finished singing, he blew out the candles and made a wish. When he looked up, he caught my eyes and gave me a wide smile, which I returned. I stopped the video and put my phone back into my pocket, before I joined the others who were now sprawling out across the sofas and the floor, waiting for Harry to open his presents.

I walked over to where Louis was sitting and sat down on his lab, comfortably leaning my head against his chest, while he gently stroked my hip with his thumb. Harry sat down on the floor and started opening his presents, getting up every few minutes to give someone a hug, the smile never disappearing from his face. When he was finished he put all of the presents on his sideboard, he suddenly disappeared into the hallway, leaving everyone a bit confused. Seconds later he returned, this time holding the record and my card in his hands which he gently placed between his other presents.

"A massive, massive thank you to every single one of you who decided to come today, especially to those who came all the way from the states! This is one of the best birthdays so far and I cannot thank you enough for the amazing presents and the cake. Now, let's get this party started!" He waved his hands through the air and everyone laughed and got up, Liam walking over to his stereo to turn the music up. 

Lazily, I pushed myself up and climbed off Louis' lab who got up as well and intertwined our fingers, before pulling me towards the table with the food and drinks. At the table, we bumped into Ed who was filling his plate with potatoe salad and gave us wide grin. "Hey lovebirds." Louis rolled his eyes, but my stomach did little somersault. "Hey, Ed." I greeted him and eyed the potatoe salad on his plate. "Is that vegetarian by any chance?" I asked him and he nodded. "Most of the food is, as we have four vegetarians here tonight." He pulled a face an I laughed. "Oi, I'm one of them so go to someone else to complain about that." He pouted and then moved on to the big plate with chicken wings on it, smirking at me while he loaded a couple of them onto his plate.

I let go off Louis' hand, who gave me an adorable pout, but quickly followed my example and started loading food onto a plate as well, before we both settled down on the floor next to James Corden and Nick Grimshaw. "Hey guys." Louis greeted them and plopped down between them, pulling me down with him, so that I nearly ended up in James' lab. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry." I immediately apologised to a now laughing James. "Well, you are more than welcome to sit in my lab, love." He smirked at me and I shook my head at him, and settled down between him and Louis. "So, how did you and Harry meet?" he asked me, genuinely curious and took a bite out of his garlic bread.

Silently freaking out because I was having an actual conversation with James Corden, I took a deep breath before I replied. "Well, I bumped into Louis on the Tube back in August and then he and the other three had a meeting at the hotel I work at later that day. We all chatted for a bit; they convinced me to befriend them and Harry and I sort of clicked and now we are really good friends. I don't know how I would be doing if I wasn't friends with him." I told him honestly and he smiled and nodded. "He is a really nice young man." I nodded in agreement and took a sip from my drink. "I am sorry, I can't contain myself anymore." I blushed and he grinned at me. "I am a massive fan of your show, and ALOTO as well, and sitting here, casually chatting next to you is kind of surreal and I just wanted to thank you for making such a great show which makes me so happy all the time." I blurted out before I could stop myself and I could see him blush a bit.

"Thank you, love. That's a really nice thing of you to say." He told me and I blushed deeply and took another bite from my food. "I love doing the show and we are incredibly happy and relieved that the show is going so well. No one ever thought it would get that big." He smiled at me and then smirked a bit. "What has been your favourite bit so far?" he asked me and my eyes widened. "Are you making me choose?" I asked him and he nodded, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I have to say, I am in love with your carpool karaokes and I also love the tattoo roulette and the dodge ball match." I told him and added "I know I probably sound really mean, but I really wanted you to get the tattoo." He frowned and shook his head at me. "And here I thought this was the start of a beautiful friendship." 

I opened my mouth to say something but in that moment Gemma spoke up, clinging her fork against her glass. "Excuse me, everyone!" We all looked up and she grinned at us. "I thought now would be a great time to take a group photo before everyone is drunk later on." Everyone put their plates down, Niall not without a warning look at everyone, and walked over to where she was standing. "Why don't we do it in the hallway on the stairs?" Harry asked and she agreed and shooed everyone into the hallway where we all sat down on different levels of the stairs. 

Harry set up a camera, while everyone got comfortable, leaving a little gap for Harry at the front. I was squeezed between Louis and Matt Irwin, who I had briefly talked to earlier, and smiled widely into the camera. The self-timer started and the red light began to blink on the camera, making Harry run back to the stairs, much to everyone's amusement. He threw himself in front of us and smiled just in time for the camera to take the photo. When everyone started moving again, he scrambled to his feet and held up his hands. "Wait, wait, wait! I have to see if it is a good photo!" We all laughed and he quickly walked back to the camera and checked if it worked out alright. "Beautiful, everyone, let's go back into the living room." Louis pulled me up and I caught Harry's eyes before they wandered down to our intertwined fingers. He shot me a questioning look and I mouthed a "I'll tell you later." in his direction, before I was pulled into the living room. "Party time!" Niall exclaimed and run back towards his food. The music was turned up again and 'Best Song Ever' came on, making everyone laugh.

Being mature as we all were, the whole group ended up doing the dance from the music video, until the ringing of the door bell interrupted us. Harry walked over to the door and opened it and I poked my head through the living room door, to see who would ring at this time of the day. Zayn's voice was perfectly singing his high note in the background, when the light of the hallway revealed who was standing outside Harry's front door. Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared in shock at the person who no one had expected to show up tonight. "Happy birthday, mate." said the person with a strong Bradford accent, before Louis said what everyone was thinking. "What the fuck are YOU doing here?"


	58. Zayn Or How We Finally Have The Talk

"Happy birthday, mate." said the person with a strong Bradford accent, before Louis said what everyone was thinking. "What the fuck are YOU doing here?" 

Zayn's eyes wandered over to where Louis and I were standing, his gaze fell on me for a moment, before they wandered over to Louis. He was even more beautiful in person and I looked back at him in awe, before I mentally slapped myself and looked up to my boyfriend. "Louis, I-" he started, but Louis interrupted him. "You show up here, on Harry's birthday of all days, and think we'll happily invite you in to join the party? After what you did last year?" Zayn looked heartbroken and opened his mouth again to say something, but Louis didn't let him. "Who the fuck do you think you are, hm?" 

I had never seen Louis so angry. His grip on my hand was very tight and I could feel him shaking a bit. I lightly tugged at his hand and put a hand on his chest, trying to calm him down. "Louis, let him at least explain himself." I said quietly. Zayn shot me a thankful look, but Louis wasn't very happy about my comment. "Stay out of this, Claire." he said in a flat down, never taking his eyes off Zayn. I looked down to the floor, hurt by his harsh words, but I tried to remind me that he was upset with his former band mate, not me.

"Don't take this out on your girl, Louis." Zayn's voice came from the door. Harry, who seemed to have recovered from the initial shock, pulled Zayn inside and closed the door behind him. "You are inviting him into your house? On your birthday?" Louis asked Harry, shock and anger evident in his voice. "He is still a human being, Louis, and it's fucking freezing outside. Plus, the media would have a field day if anyone saw us." Harry explained to him, but didn't look at Zayn either.

Anne stepped forward and shot Louis a look that clearly told him to shut up. "Why don't you five take this upstairs and talk and we wait downstairs in the living room, hm? Zayn, would you like something to drink or to eat?" she asked him kindly and he shook his head. Liam and Niall stepped forward as well, while Zayn took his coat off and neatly placed his boots next to mine on the ground. "No, thank you, Anne." He gave her a weak smile and followed Harry upstairs. Louis let go off my hand and brushed past me without another look at me, his eyes fixed on Zayn's back who was hesitantly climbing up the stairs. Niall, who looked hurt and confused, followed them, Liam on his heels. 

After they had shut the door upstairs, the rest of us silently walked back into the living room and sat down on the sofas. No one was in the mood for a party anymore. "Well that was awkward." Ed said out loud and we nodded. "I hope they all come down in one piece." Anne said, a frown on her face and threw a concerned look at the ceiling. "They will be fine, mum, they are just hurt. Louis won't kill him." Gemma tried to calm her down. I coughed and she shot me an amused look. "Well, maybe he'll try, but I don't think the other three would let him seriously harm him." Julian Bunetta walked over to me and sat down on the sofa next to me. "Louis didn't mean what he said to you, you know?" He said quietly and I looked up. "I know he was upset with Zayn and not me, but it still hurt." I replied quietly and he nodded. "I am sure it does, but he'll come around. Just let him have some time to get over the initial shock of seeing Zayn again since March." I nodded, unsure of what else to say. He gave my shoulder a light squeeze and then got up and walked over to the improvised bar to get himself a drink. 

Harry's POV:

There was an awkward silence after I had closed the door behind us. "You didn't have to be so rude towards Claire." I said quietly to Louis, whose eyes flashed with anger. "I know that, alright? I'll apologise later to her, this is more important." I held up my hands in defense, silently wondering how Claire was doing downstairs. I hope she understood that Louis wasn't angry at her. "Um, can I say something first?" Zayn asked hesitantly and we all looked at him. He fiddled with the hem of his t-shirt and shifted his weight from one foot to the others. "Spit it out." Louis said and crossed his arms over his chest. Out of the four of us, Zayn's decision to quit the band had hurt Louis the most as they had been the closest before he left and even he didn't have a clue. 

"First of all I would like to apologise to you. I know that leaving you in the middle of a world tour was a dick move and I feel like shit about it." Louis coughed, but Liam shot him a stern look and he kept his mouth shut. "I tried to stay and keep going, at least until the end of the tour, but I couldn't. I couldn't do it and I abandoned you in the middle of a fucking world tour like the biggest prick on earth. I will never be able to make up for that and I know that. I just want to explain why I did it." He took a deep breath before he continued. 

"I, um, I have been suffering from panic and anxiety attacks for about three years now. And they just kept getting worse and worse and then everything around me started to fall apart and I just couldn't take it anymore. I knew it would break me if I kept going the way I did and I talked to my mum for hours and in the end I decided to quit. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make, but it was either that or suffer from a mental break down and sacrificing my life for the happiness of others. And just for once in my life I chose me." He gulped and run a shaking hand through his hair. "I don't expect you to forgive me, but I wanted to explain it to you and I hadn't had the chance until now because none of you tried to contact me or answered any of my texts or emails or calls." 

Guilt was burning inside of me like a fire and I looked down at my hands. I knew he was right. None of us had contacted him and we were all too hurt to respond o any of his tries of getting in touch with us. "Why did you never say anything, mate?" Liam asked and I looked up to see a shadow flicker across Zayn's face, before he answered the question. "I didn't want to be a burden. I knew you were all fighting your own battles and I didn't want to bother you with my own shit." Liam nodded and we all looked over to Louis, who was very pale and starred at Zayn, his face unreadable. 

"I was your best friend, man, why did you never say anything?" He asked quietly and Zayn looked over to him. "You were having your own problems with Eleanor and missing your family, mate. And I just couldn't say it, you know? Because then I would have had to admit that I actually had a problem and I wasn't ready for that." Suddenly, Niall seemed to snap out of his trance and with three big steps he was in front of Zayn and pulled him into a hug. After he got over the initial shock, Zayn hugged him back just as tightly. 

After they had let go, I stepped forward as well and pulled Zayn into a hug. "I'm sorry, mate." I whispered into his ear and he nodded and shot me a thankful look when we pulled away. He didn't have to say anything, I knew he understood what I had wanted to say. Liam gave Zayn a very long hug as well and then all of us looked over to Louis. "I really am sorry, Lou." Zayn said quietly and Louis' eyes flickered over to us and then back to Zayn. "I don't know if I'll ever forgive you for what you have done." he started and as Zayn opened his mouth he held up a finger. "Like I said, I don't think I will ever forgive you, but you are my brother and as much as you hurt me I want you back in my life." 

A small smile appeared on Zayn's face and then Louis' face split into a grin and he walked over and pulled Zayn into a hug. "Group hug!" Niall cheered and jumped on top of the other two, making them stumble and fall over. Liam and I jumped on top of them as well and we ended up in a hump on the floor, all laughing. "I missed you, you idiots." Zayn's muffled voice came from underneath Louis' chest. "But if you don't get off me right now I might not make it until midnight." We all scrambled to our feet and I held out a hand for Zayn, which he gladly took, and pulled him up. 

"Let's go back downstairs and show them that you're still alive." Niall said with a smirk in my direction and Zayn grinned widely. "So I'm allowed to stay?" he asked me, his eyes wandering over to Louis, who nodded and then looked over to me. "Yes, you can stay." I assured him and we walked downstairs, Louis arm resting around Zayn's shoulder.


	59. Apologies Or How Zayn Gives Good Advice

While the boys talked upstairs, the rest of us was sprawled around the living room, quietly talking, but at the same time trying to listen for any sign of what was going on upstairs. Suddenly, we heard voices and a few seconds later, the five of them appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Surprised looks were exchanged when we saw that Louis had his arm wrapped around Zayn's shoulder and all five of them were smiling widely. 

"I take it from the stupid grins on your faces that your talk went well and we are now all gonna live happily ever after?" Ed asked with a smirk and a pointed look at Louis who rolled his eyes at him, before he caught my eyes and quickly looked back to Ed. I turned my head and started a conversation with Grimmie, deliberately trying to look in the opposite direction of Louis, until I felt a hand on my lower back. "Claire?" Grimmie looked up, but I didn't acknowledge Louis presence behind me in anyway. "I know I fucked up, love, please let me apologise." He sounded very upset which made me give in. I turned around and looked up at Louis who held his hand out for me to take. After a moment of hesitation, I placed my hand in his and let him pull me up. I sent an apologetic look in Grimmie's direction who gave me an encouraging smile before he got up and joined Harry and Gemma who were discussing something.

Louis pulled me through the now again crowded room out into the hallway and into the kitchen. He gently cupped my face with his hands, and made me look up at him, his blue eyes holding mine captivated with his intense gaze. "I'm sorry, love. I hadn't seen Zayn since, well, since March last year, and I wasn't expecting to see him any time soon and I just wasn't prepared. I know I shouldn't have taken it out on you and I am truly sorry." I blinked and tried to decide whether I should accept his apology now, or make him suffer for a bit longer. I decided that I was a nice person and gave him a small smile which he hesitantly returned. "It really hurt to be brushed off like that, especially with all these people there that I look up to, but I can understand why you did it and I'll forgive you. Just try not to do it again, okay?" I asked him and he nodded and leaned in and pecked my nose, making me giggle. He grinned and leaned in again, this time his lips met mine and we kissed for a few seconds, until we were interrupted by the door opening behind us.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry." Harry seemed embarrassed to have walked in on us and I saw the hint of a blush on his cheeks. His eyes met mine and he gave me a concerned look, but relaxed a little bit when I smiled at him. "Are you okay?" I asked him and took a step back, Louis hands still on my waist. "I, uh, just wanted to get some more wine." He said and walked over to one of his cupboards and pulled out a bottle of red wine. "Wait, we'll come with you." I told him with a smile and ignored Louis' pout. "Are we, love?" he asked me in a teasing tone and I shot him a stern look. "Yes, we are. Just because I have forgiven you, doesn't mean you're getting any tonight." Harry coughed and held the door open for me, Louis following us out of the kitchen with a defeated look on his face. 

Back in the living room, I walked over to the bar and poured me a glass of the red wine that Harry just retrieved from the kitchen. I tentatively sipped on it and surprisingly really enjoyed the taste so I took bigger sip and let the aromas swirl in my mouth, my eyes closed. "It's good, hm?" a deep voice asked beside me, making me jump and nearly choke on my wine. "Jesus, Harry, you scared me!" He gave me a wide grin, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "That wasn't my intention." He assured me, but his eyes said something else. I hummed and took another sip of my wine. "Sure, Harry, whatever helps you sleep at night." He smirked down at me and I rolled my eyes at him, but couldn't help but grin. 

"Are you okay?" His expression changed from amused to one of concern. "You look a bit thinner, love, still beautiful, of course." I blushed a bit and looked down at my feet, until a long finger forced me to look up again. "Claire, you promised me to eat regularly. Have you been eating love?" His eyes were filled with concern and I couldn't lie to him so I shook my head. "Not since, you know..." I whispered and saw Harry's eyes darken. "Claire, I know that this is hard for you, but you have to take care of yourself, okay? He wouldn't want you to starve yourself to death." He told me quietly and pulled me into a tight hug. 

"You have covered it quite well with your clothes and your make up, but I can see that you've lost weight and I can still see the shadows underneath your eyes, love." I remained quiet and just enjoyed the warmth of his hug. "Promise me to take more care of yourself, please, Claire." He pulled away a little bit and gave me a stern look. "I'll come around to check on you every day if I have to." he threatened. I gave him a weak smile and shook my head. "I'll try to do better, Harry, I promise." 

He let go off me and I gave him one last smile, before I fled across the room and sat down on a sofa near the window, slowly sipping on my wine, while I looked outside into the dark. After a few minutes, the sofa dipped underneath the weight of someone sitting down next to me and I looked up. "Do you mind me joining you here for a bit? I need a quiet spot to think." Zayn said and gave me a warm smile which I returned. "Sure." I moved a bit to make some space for him and he got comfortable next to me. "So, are you Louis' girl then?" he asked me out of the blue and I looked up from my glass. "Yes, he actually just asked me before the party." I blushed a bit and he smirked and we both looked over to where Louis was standing, engaged in a deep conversation with Liam about a new song.

"Is he treating you well?" Zayn asked me and I turned my head back to face him. "He's amazing." I assured him and he grinned. "He's a good guy, I hope you know how lucky you are." He gave me a calculating look, which made me feel slightly uncomfortable. "I'm not with him because he's famous, Zayn. I am with him because he is one of the best people I've ever had the fortune to meet and if I could choose I would prefer to live in a world where he is just a nice guy that I met at uni and not someone who I am risking my privacy for just by being with him." I explained him and saw him relax a little bit. "I don't want to hurt him, Zayn." He nodded and smiled at me. Relieved, I returned the smile and took another sip from my wine.

"What is Harry concerned about?" he asked me after a couple of seconds and I looked up at him, surprise written all over my face. "How do you know he's concerned about something?" I asked him and he gave me a pointed look. "I spent nearly five years with Harry, sharing a tour bus and hotel rooms, love, I know what he looks like when he's concerned." I sighed and looked back out of the window, not being able to look at Zayn, while I told him what was going on. "I lost my dad two weeks ago." I could hear his breath hitch behind me, but I continued quickly, before he got the chance to say something. "I've been suffering from panic and anxiety attacks before that and phases of depression as well, but now it's getting worse again and I don't really eat much or get any sleep and Harry, being Harry, noticed it and made me promise to take better care of myself."

I didn't dare to look at Zayn after I had finished and instead kept my eyes on the window. "I am sorry for your loss, love. I've been suffering from panic attacks and anxiety for years, you know? I know that it's hard and I know how hard it is to take care of yourself and to make the right decision sometimes. You have a problem, but you don't want to talk about it because you don't want anyone to worry about you." His voice broke at the end of the sentence which made me look up. "I know how you feel, love, but you don't have to go through this alone, okay? Sometimes, talking really helps. Just talk to someone you completely trust like your best friend, or your mum, or Harry or Louis. I know they would all help you get through this. And if you'd like to you can talk to me as well, okay?" I nodded and gave him a hesitant smile. "Thank you, Zayn." He nodded and I suddenly felt my eyes filling up with tears and blinked to push them back. 

"Hey, come here, love." He moved closer to me and pulled me into a tight hug. "You'll be okay." I nodded into his shoulder and he pulled away again. "Here, let me give you my phone number and you can call or text me any time, okay?" I pulled out my phone as well and handed it to him, while I typed my number into his phone; my brain vaguely registering the fact that I was exchanging numbers with Zayn Malik of all people. 

"Thank you, Zayn." He looked up and handed me my phone back. "You're welcome, love. And now stop brooding over the meaning of life and go and celebrate with your boyfriend." He nodded over to Louis who shot me a concerned look and smiled when he saw me walking over to him. He pulled me into his side and pressed a light kiss to my temple, making me smile. "Are you okay, love?" he asked me quietly and I nodded and let my head rest on his chest. "I will be." I assured him and I felt him press a kiss to my hair, before he continued his conversation with Liam.


	60. Bathtubs Or How Harry Hit His Head

It had been a week since Harry's birthday and I had plunged myself into work again, resulting in no social life and very little sleep. I haven't had any time to see Louis the whole week and for tomorrow I had finally agreed to take a day off work to spend some time with him. He had promised me to drag me out of my flat and I was really looking forward to seeing something that wasn't the library, a lecture theatre, work or my bedroom. But today, I wanted to take a day off and just use the day to take care of myself, by actually eating a proper meal, maybe taking a bath and binge watch some friends episodes. 

With a groan, I turned around and pulled the blanket over my head, not able to motivate myself to leave my warm and comfortable bed just yet. Just as I was drifting back to sleep, the door bell rang. Lily was sleeping over at Niall's so there was no one else to answer the door. I played dead and hoped that whoever was at the other side of the door would just give up and go away. Unfortunately that wasn't the case and the door bell rung again. With an annoyed huff, I pushed the blanket off my feet and shuffled towards the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming..." I mumbled and fiddled with the keys, before I managed to unlock the door.

Harry was standing on the other side of the door with a wide grin on his pretty face, as his eyes wandered down my body, taking in my tired state and particularly focusing on my bare legs which were only covered by an over sized t-shirt. "It's ten am, Harry, some people like to sleep in on a Saturday." I told him and run my hand through the birds nest which was currently my hair. "Good morning to you, too, love." He grinned down at me and then held up a bag and two cups of coffee. "I brought you a cinnamon latte and buns." Grudgingly, I opened the door a bit more, just enough to let him in without exposing my legs to the cold for too long. "I knew that would convince you." Harry said with a smirk while he took off his shoes and jacket and then strolled into my kitchen, acting like he owned the place.

"I'll, eh, I'll just put on some trousers, if you don't mind." I blushed a bit and he turned around with two plates in his hands and grinned. "Well you don't have to cover up on my account, but I bet your boyfriend would prefer it if you weren't running 'round half naked around other guys, I suppose." I blushed a bit at the word 'boyfriend' and quickly walked back into my bed room where I grabbed a pair of leggings, a bra and my hairbrush. After unsuccessfully trying to untangle my hair, I gave up and simply pulled it into a messy bun and made my way back into the kitchen where Harry had already made himself comfortable, happily munching on his bun, his long legs spread out in front of him, seemingly completely content with the situation. 

I plumbed down onto the chair on the other side of the table and took a sip from my cinnamon latte. "Thank you for bringing me breakfast." He looked up from his bun, which he was trying to cover with jam, and gave me a warm smile. "Well, I gotta make sure that you eat, don't I?" He shot me a stern look and I quickly looked down at my coffee. "I asked Lily and she said she hasn't really seen you eat anything since the funeral and assumed that you just ate on your way to work or at uni. So have you? Have you been eating, Claire?" he asked me seriously and I kept my eyes fixed on my bun and hesitantly took a bite. "Claire, I'm talking to you." I looked up and saw concern written all over his face and put my bun down again.

"I have been eating." I told him and hoped that he wouldn't ask how much, but I was unlucky. "Have you been eating regularly?" he dug deeper and I looked down at my coffee and shook my head. "Fuck, Claire, why are you starving yourself? We're all worried about you, love." He sounded concerned and a little bit angry. "I am just not hungry, okay?" I defended myself, a hint of anger in my voice. "I just can't eat anything and I am never hungry when I'm busy. Why do you care so much anyway?" I saw hurt flash through his green eyes and immediately felt bad for saying anything. "Why I care?" His voice was very calm and suddenly a bit deeper than usually. I nodded and he got up and run a hand through his hair. 

"I care about you starving yourself because I care a lot about you, okay? You are one of the most important people in my life right now, so of course I care about you!" His green eyes were burning themselves into mine and I didn't dare to look away. "I can't just stand there and do nothing! The least I can do is bring you something to eat and make sure you treat yourself right, from time to time." He stopped pacing in front of me and then quietly added "And I also promised your dad to take care of you, no matter what." Surprised, I put my coffee down and looked up at him. "You did?" 

Harry nodded and squatted down in front of me, his minty breath fanning over my face. "And I will keep my promise, love. No matter if you want me here or not." He gently pushed a few loose strands of hair out of my face and I gave him a hesitant smile, before I held my arms out. He chuckled and pulled me into a hug, my head resting on his shoulder. "Thank you for being such an amazing friend, Harry." I gave him a tight squeeze which he returned. "No problem, Claire." We pulled away and he stood up, stretching his arms above his head, before he sat back down again. 

"So, how about we finish breakfast and then I'll run you a relaxing bath and after that we can watch a movie or something and I'll cook us a nice, healthy lunch?" he suggested and grinned when I crinkled nose at the words 'healthy lunch'. "It'll taste nice, I promise." Not completely convinced, I shot him a look before I finished off my bun with one big last bite. "Alright, I'll trust you." He grinned, obviously pleased with my answer, and then got up and put his plate into the sink. "You enjoy the rest of your coffee and I'll start running you a nice bath, okay?" I shot him a thankful look, but couldn't help but tease him a little bit. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" He shook his head at me and then smugly explained to me that he had always prepared his mum a bath when she was having a bad day when he was younger. With that, he left me alone in the kitchen and returned a few minutes later, his sleeves rolled up and a wide grin on his face. "Your bath is ready, Milady." 

He did a mock bow and offered me his arm which I excepted with a laugh and let him guide me into my bathroom. He had put on some relaxing music and the bath tub was filled with some bubbles and steaming water. "That looks amazing, thank you." I let go off his arm and he smiled down at me. "You're welcome, love. I'll let you soak for a couple of minutes and if you need any help or something like that just give me a shout, okay?" After a nod from me, he closed the door behind him.

I quickly stripped out of my clothes and carefully let myself sink into the hot bath, my whole body relaxing at once. After a couple of minutes in the hot water, I washed my hair and my body and then looked for a towel, but couldn't spot one anywhere. Silently cursing Harry for not laying one outside the tub for me, and myself for not checking before I climbed into the bath, I took a deep breath before I called for Harry. Moments later, he was outside the bathroom. "Are you okay?" came his muffled voice through the closed door. "I don't have a towel." I explained to him and I could have sworn that I heard him chuckle. "No problem, love, I'll get you one if you tell me where they are." 

I gave him a short description of where he could find my towels and a minute later he was back outside the door. "Um, could you maybe come in and just put the towel in front of the bathtub with your eyes closed?" I suggested, my cheeks burning like fire. "I won't peek, I promise." he told me, before he opened the door and hesitantly stepped into the bathroom, only to stumble over my leggings on the floor, making him fall over and opening his eyes during the fall. I shrieked and quickly covered myself while he turned his head around as fast as possible. "Oh shit, I'm sorry love. I swear I didn't see anything!" 

He pushed the towel in my direction and quickly got up and wrapped it around myself. How did I get into a situation which resulted in me being naked in front of Harry Styles in my bathroom? Harry slowly sat up and held his head, still not daring to turn around though. "Shit, are you okay?" I asked him and climbed out of the bathtub, careful not to let my towel slip pit of my hand. "I just knocked my head a little bit, I'll be fine, love." He pulled himself up and turned around to face me, his eyes desperately trying to stay on my face. "I'll, um, I'll wait in the living room for you. Just shout if you need something." With an awkward smile in my direction, he quickly left the bathroom.

I sank down on my toilet and put my head in my hands. How did things like that always happen to me? Shaking my head at myself, I got up and quickly got dressed to avoid another awkward situation with Harry at any cost. Deciding not to dry my hair, I merely tried to untangle it a bit and brushed my teeth before I joined Harry in the living room. "Love Actually?" he asked me, holding up the DVD, and I grinned widely and got comfortable on the sofa next to him. "Yes, please." He got up and put the DVD into my TV, before he returned to his spot next to me and pulled me into his side so that my head was resting on his chest. "Feeling a bit better now?" I hummed in response and kept my eyes focused on Bill Nighy who was attempting to sing 'Christmas Is All Around Me'. "I'm glad I could help you a little bit." I smiled at his words and watched Joe, the manager, trying not to lose his mind around the singer. "Thank you for being here." I thanked him quietly and felt him shift a bit underneath me, before he replied. "Any time, love, any time."


	61. Breakfast Talks Or How Lily Gave Me Something To Think About

After Harry had left very late that night, I was lying in my bed, going through tumblr and giggling at a cute video of two cats running away from a potatoe. My phone beeped, interrupting my funny video and when I opened the message I saw that Harry had texted me. "I had a great day, today, I hope you enjoyed your day off and my healthy lunch. ;) Louis is a lucky guy to have you. H xxx" I smiled widely at my phone and grinned when I remembered my reaction to his lunch. He had made a vegetarian pasta dish with literally every vegetable he could find in our fridge, which was surprisingly quite a lot, as Lily had just gone shopping two days ago, filling up the fridge with a good balance of healthy and unhealthy food. I had nearly cried when I had taken the first bite because it was one of the best things I had tasted in a very long time, resulting in making him promise to cook for me again.

Smiling down at my phone, I typed a reply, trying not to drop my phone on my face in the meantime."I had a great time, as well, thank you so much for coming over. You can cook for me any time (I'm not even kidding)! And I am very lucky to have him as well, but equally lucky to have you in my life. Good night xxx" After sending first Louis and then Lily a quick good night text, I set my alarm for 10 am and immediately fell asleep as soon as I had turned the light off.

When my alarm rang the next morning, I wasn't even remotely willing to leave my bed just yet, but my amazing idea to just ignore the alarm was interrupted by someone jumping on my bed. "Morning, sunshine!" I groaned and pulled my blanket over my head. Lily laughed and made me squeak when she forcefully pulled the blanket off me. "Come on, get up! We only have until 3pm to have some girls time and get you ready." I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to ignore her, but unfortunately she refused to give up that easily. "Get your lazy butt out of bed before I tickle you." she threatened me and my eyes shot open making her giggle. I sat up and run my hand through my hair. "Now, that's more like it." Lily smirked at me and then hopped off the bed, walking over to the window to open the curtains. "I think you can stop trying to fix your hair; only a shower will solve that mess." she commented from the window. I stuck my tongue out at her and pulled a pair of sweatpants up my legs, before I walked towards the door, following her into the kitchen.

"Why are you so bloody cheerful this morning?" I asked her and gratefully accepted the steaming mug of tea she was holding out for me. "Just happy to spend some time with you." she tried to dismiss it, but I knew her better than that. I raised an eyebrow and shot her a curious look, but she was too busy trying to spread the butter equally on her toast to notice it. "Did something happen with Niall?" I asked her in a teasing tone and she looked up from her toast, her eyes twinkling with happiness. "Maybe." 

"Come on, you can't just tease me like that and then refuse to tell me what happened! It can't have been finally getting him into bed because we all know that happened months ago." I teased her and she blushed a bit, but gave me a smug grin, before taking a sip of her coffee. "He may have told me that he loves me last night." She said with a wide grin, and I could pretty much feel the happiness radiating off her. "Oh my Gosh, Lily, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" I gushed and she blushed a little bit and took another sip from her coffee. "I also might have said it back." she confessed and blushed even harder. "You two are adorable together. Hopefully, me and Louis will reach that point as well, sometime in the near future." Reaching for the milk, I nearly missed what Lily said next. "Or you and Harry." 

Her words took me by surprise and I nearly dropped the milk on my toast. "Excuse me?" I asked her, not sure if I had heard her correctly. "I said 'or you and Harry'." Lily clarified and I safely placed the milk on the table and leaned back in my chair. "What makes you think that? Harry and I are just good friends. I'm with Louis now." I told her sternly and she shook her head at me. "Claire, are you seriously that oblivious or do you just not want to admit that there could be something between you and Harry if you weren't with Louis." My thoughts wandered back to our bathroom encounter yesterday and the cuddling on the sofa afterwards and our long conversations about life until way after midnight. My face must have given me away because she shot me a look which definitely said "Told you so." 

I forcefully shook my head and took a long sip from my tea, trying to sort my thoughts. "I am with Louis and I am happy with Louis." I stated and angrily pushed my hair out of my face, which had somehow freed itself from my ponytail again. "But...?" Lily questioned and I hid my face in my hands. "No 'but', there can't be a 'but'! I am happy with Louis and I should be more than happy to have Harry in my life, as well, because he has been an amazing friend to me from the start, and I... I mean, yes, of course he is one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen and this amazing human being at the same time, but nothing will ever happen between the two of us. Even if I wasn't with Louis, Harry would never go for me." 

Lily's laughter made me look up from my hands. "Wow, you really are a bit stupid sometimes. Look, I only want what's best for you and I think you and Louis are really cute, but I also think that you and Harry share an amazing connection, as well. I just want you to be happy and if Louis makes you happy, then be with Louis because he definitely likes you very much and you like him as well. But if there is the possibility that you could be even happier with Harry, then give it a chance." She shot me a serious look. " Give yourself the chance to be happy, C, because I don't know anyone else who deserves a happy and stable relationship more than you." 

I blushed a bit and looked down at my toast. "I am not saying to break up with Louis and throw yourself into Harry's arms because that would be wrong on so many levels. All I am saying is, to give yourself a chance to be happy with Louis, like really open up to him and give yourselves a chance to have a happy relationship. But you should at least make up your mind about your feelings for Harry as well and not lead him on in anyway because he doesn't deserve that either." Looking up, I saw that she gave me an encouraging smile and then asked the question I had been wanting to ask since she had brought Harry up. "But how do you even know that Harry likes me?"

Chuckling, she shook her head and downed the rest of her coffee in one big gulp. "Hmmm, where do I start?" She stroked her chin and pretended to think really hard. "How about the way he looks at you? Or the way that he constantly worries about you and texts me to check up on you because he doesn't want you to know how much he cares about you? Or the fact that he spent his whole Saturday taking care of you? The fact that he drove three hours to be with you when you're dad was dying? The fact that he went with you to your cousin's wedding? Or maybe how much he tried to impress your parents? Or maybe just the fact that out of all people he knows he wanted to spend his birthday with you, not his mum or his sister or his best mates, just you?" She leaned back and grinned a bit at my flushed face. "You can deny it all you want, C, but even a stranger could tell that he likes you. And you like him as well, maybe not as much as you like, Louis, but there definitely is a special connection between the two of you. Don't stress yourself about it, alright? Just think about it and just live in the moment."

Deep in thought, I simply nodded my head and pushed my toast away from me, suddenly not so hungry anymore. "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, you need to finish that toast. I don't care if you are not hungry, you need to eat." Lily shot me a stern look, suddenly reminding me a lot of Harry, and when I looked down at my hands, she sighed. "Hey, I'm just worried about you. Please, eat something. Just the toast and then we'll cook something yummy for lunch." She sounded really concerned and after an encouraging look from her, I pulled the plate back towards me and finished my toast. 

"Now, how about we both take a shower and then watch some Teen Wolf or something before you have to get ready for your date." She wiggled her eyebrows at the end of the sentence and I blushed a bit, but agreed anyway. "Fantastic, now you go and take a shower and I'll do the dishes and set up the TV and then you can think about what you want to wear this afternoon while I shower." She got up and carried her plate towards the sink. "And, Claire?" I stopped at the doorway and turned around again. "I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you, I just want you to be happy, you know that, right?" I gave her a weak smile and nodded. "Of course I know that, Lil. You're my best friend and I care about you just as much as you care about me. That's why I am so happy for you and Niall." Grinning at her flushed face, I made my way towards the bathroom.

With the hot water running over my body, I let my mind wander and allowed myself for a second what life would be like if I was with Harry instead of Louis. Shaking my head at myself, I pushed the thoughts away and instead tried to think of something to wear for my date with Louis. Harry and I would never happen, so why had Lily's words affected me so much? Applying shampoo to my hair, I tried to ignore the fact that Harry had potentially seen me naked in this bathroom less than 24h ago because no matter what he had said, I wasn't a hundred percent sure that he really hadn't seen anything. Mentally slapping myself, I pushed all the thoughts about Harry to the back of my head and started rinsing my hair, slowly getting more and more excited about my date with Louis.


	62. Surprise Date Or How Louis Likes Katy Perry

Louis picked me up at three o'clock and greeted me with a kiss and a wide smile. "Hey, love!" I smiled back up at him. "Hi, Lou." We just looked at each other for a couple of seconds, completely lost in our own little world until Lily cleared her throat behind me. Louis' eyes left mine and he gave Lily a smile and waved at her. "Hi, Lily." She chuckled and shook her head at us. "Bring her back in one piece, Tomlinson!" she warned him before she vanished into the kitchen. "I'll try my best!" he shouted towards the kitchen door, before he pulled me outside and shut the front door behind us.

"Sooo... where are you taking me?" I asked him excitedly, but he only smirked and only opened the car door for me with a little bow. "Come on, don't make it another surprise!" I whined and pouted when he still didn't say anything. After gently closing the car door, he strolled around the front of the car, looking like some model and then proceeded to climb into the driver's seat on my right. "I love how much you hate surprises." He grinned at me and I stuck out my tongue at him. "Very mature, love. And we could put that tongue of yours to better use, you know?" He winked at me, making me blush deeply, my tongue securely back in my mouth. "I bet you do." I grumbled and I heard him chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll show you soon enough love."

Very well aware of the double meaning of his sentence, I decided to turn the radio on instead, but my hand was stopped by Louis. "Oi, what did you do that for?" I asked him and tried to reach the power button for the radio again, but he covered it with his left one while he drove. "Keep your hands on the wheel, mister!" I scolded him and he quickly put his hand back onto the gear shift when we stopped at a traffic light. "

"So, any specific reason you won't let me listen to your radio?" I asked him in a teasing tone and poked his side a bit, making him squirm in his seat. "Nope." He kept his eyes focused on the road until I poked him again, making the car sway a bit. "Jesus Christ, Claire, I'm driving!" He shot me a look, but I just innocently smiled at him and batted my eyelashes. When he turned around the next corner, I used my chance and launched forward, managing to press the power button before Louis could stop me. Katy Perry's '' started blaring through the speakers and I chuckled, before I realised that the radio wasn't on. "You like Katy Perry, Lou?" I teased him and saw his cheeks turning a little bit red. "No comment." was his only reply and I laughed and pinched his cheek. "I think it's cute." He swatted my hand away and continued to drive towards our unknown destination, his eyes firmly on the road.

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Lou. I don't think it's unfair to judge anyone by what kind of music they like as long as it makes them happy and doesn't harm anyone in the process." That made him look up and he gave me a small smile before he turned into a driveway which was leading up to the car park next to a very familiar building. "You brought me to see a musical?" I squealed excitedly and he laughed and grinned at my childish excitement. Mildly embarrassed, I looked down at my lab, until we stopped and Louis turned the engine off. "Hey, no need to be embarrassed, love. I am happy you like my surprise." I hesitantly looked over to him and saw him watching me with a fond smile on his face.

"Come on, otherwise we'll miss the show." He climbed out of the car and before I could even open my door, he was already on my side and helped me out of the car. "Shit, I'm so excited. What are we watching?" I asked him and literally bounced up and down, making him chuckle. "I got us two front row tickets for 'The Lion King'." he told me with a smirk, watching me with a smirk. It took a few seconds for the new to sink in, then my eyes widened and I wrapped my arms around Louis. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! That's my favourite musical!" I admitted into his chest and I felt him vibrate underneath me, as he laughed at my excitement. "You're cute when you're so excited." I pulled away and blushed deeply, making him chuckle. He gently brushed his thumb over my cheek. "Ready to go in?" I nodded and he intertwined our fingers, letting me drag him towards the lift which would take us up to the theatre.

When we arrived in the entrance hall, a few heads turned when people recognised Louis, but luckily no one approached us. Louis hadn't let go off my hand and had a tight grip on my hand the entire time until we had found our seats. "We are so close to the stage." I said in awe and cranked my neck to look around the theatre, while Louis was watching me with an amused look on his face. "Have you ever seen a musical live?" he asked me, making me snap out of my excitement. "No, unfortunately we could never afford going." I admitted and blushed a bit, suddenly finding my hands very interesting. 

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I never imagined living the life I am right now. I never would have been able to afford this if the band hadn't taken off like that." he told me quietly and I instantly felt a little bit better. "We've been quite tight on money, especially during the last few years when my dad had to stop working and my mum could only take up a part time job because she was looking after him." I admitted quietly. Tears were threatening to spill over and I hastily blinked them away, taking a deep breath to calm myself down again. Louis squeezed my thigh and then intertwined our fingers again. Suddenly, the lights went out and a quiet squeal of excitement escaped my lips making Louis chuckle next to me. "Shush, I don't want to miss a second of this!" I whispered at him and we both leaned back and enjoyed what very well might have been the of the best two hours of my life.

The musical was amazing. It was great for me to spend two hours in a completely different world than my own, although I cried a little bit when the king died because it reminded me of my dad. Louis never let go of my hand and when the musical had ended, it was like we were waking up from a very good dream. "That was fantastic, thank you so much for taking me!" I exclaimed and wrapped my arms around Louis who chuckled and hugged me back. "I'm glad you had such a great time." Pulling away a little bit, I smiled up at him and saw his blue eyes looking down at me. "The best, seriously."

He gave me a wide smile and then let go off me, only to intertwine our fingers again. "Are you hungry? I got reservations at a nice restaurant about twenty minutes from here. Only if you'd like to go, of course." he added hastily and I grinned up at him. "I am assuming this is a hypothetical question?" His grin turned into a smirk and he poked my side, making me squeak, which earned me a couple of weird looks from the people around us. "I forgot that you're always hungry." Tugging at my hand, he carefully guided me through the crowd, always keeping his head down to avoid being seen or recognised.

We made it to the car in one piece and I hoped that we would be able to get into the restaurant and then back home without anyone recognising Louis. He opened the door for me and then quickly made his way around the car and climbed into the driver's seat. "Are you okay, love?" he asked and shot me a concerned look. "Oh, I'm fine, don't worry about me." Not entirely convinced, he shot me another look, but then turned his concentration back on the road. We drove in silence for a couple of seconds, before I spoke up again.

"Louis?" I asked quietly and he hummed, but didn't take his eyes off the road. "What would I... what do I do if we encountered paps or fans?"I watched him from the side, as he navigated the car through the heavy London traffic, taking a few seconds before he replied to my question. "Well, if it's the paps just ignore them and hide your face behind your hair. Keep your head down and hold onto my hand and I will protect you from them." He shot me a crooked smile, before the car came to a stop at a traffic light and he turned his head to look at me. "And if we meet fans, just be your amazing, kind self and stay as calm as you can. Remember, you were, or still are, one of them and put yourself into their shoes, alright?" I nodded and he reached over the gear shift and gave my leg a light squeeze, before the cars in front of us started to move again.

"And if they asked us if I'm your girlfriend?" Once again, my mouth was faster than my brain and I immediately regretted asking the question. Louis didn't reply straightaway, but instead kept his eyes on the road. "Well, that's entirely up to you, love. Like I said, I would love to show you off to the world, but I know that you aren't ready for that yet, so as long as you are not happy about being seen with me in a relationship outside of the safety of our close friends and family, we don't have to reply to the question, or just say that we're good friends." His blue eyes met mine and he gave me a reassuring smile, which I returned. "Thank you for being so understanding, Lou." I thanked him quietly and he nodded, his concentration once again on the cars in front of us.

When we pulled up outside the restaurant there weren't any paparazzi in sight and I let out a sigh of relief. "Ready to go in, love?" Louis asked me from the seat next to me and I pulled a face and nodded. "I am starving, so let's go." He grinned and guided me towards the entrance, his hand securely on my lower back. The waitress at the entrance did a double take when she spotted Louis and nervously fixed her hair. "Good evening, welcome to Osteria Dell' Angolo!" She gave both of us a wide smile and then looked down the reservation list in front of her. "Did you book the table for two at the very back, Sir?" she asked Louis and blushed a little bit under his gaze (who could blame her?) when he gave her a warms smile. "Yes, that's us."

After making a small note on her notepad, she showed us to a table at the very back of the restaurant in a corner which hid us well from most prying eyes. "This is perfect, thank you very much." Louis thanked her and she blushed again and excused herself to get our menus. "This looks beautiful!" I gestured to our surroundings and looked around with big eyes like a little kid in a candy store. Louis chuckled and pulled out the chair for me, before sitting down himself. "The food here is excellent; I've taken my mum out here a couple of times and the staff is very attentive and always very helpful when it comes to privacy. I've never been bothered in here, just once when one of the guests must have let it slip that I was here and me and me mum were surprised by the paps when we got out." I visibly paled and he reached over the table and gave my hand a light squeeze. "I'm sure it won't happen again."

We were interrupted by Jenny, our waitress for the evening, who brought us the menus and asked us what we would like to drink. "Is there a wine you would recommend?" I asked her after taking a short look at the seemingly endless wine card. She gave me a smile and nodded. "If you enjoy red wine, I would recommend the Nero D'Avola and if you prefer white the Greco di Tufo, but of course that depends on what you'll have for dinner." When she saw the look on my face she laughed and then suggested to bring me some water until I had decided what to eat and then she would be able to recommend me the perfect wine for my meal. I shot her a grateful look and after Louis had ordered some water for him as well, and a bottle of champagne to share, she left us alone to decide on what kind of food we would be having.

My eyes fell on the price of champagne he had ordered and I nearly fell off my chair. "You spent £143.00 on a BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE?!" I whisper-shouted at him and he started laughing at my reaction. "Lou, I know that you are a millionaire, but you don't have to proof that to me by spending so much money on a freaking bottle of champagne!" I told him in a serious tone and he shot me a smug grin over the table. "Don't worry about it, alright, love?" I shook my head at him and then examined the menu in front of me. We both spend the next two minutes or so in silence, unsure of what we should order. Everything sounded delicious and even though I had less options as a vegetarian, I still had a hard time making a choice.

When Jenny returned with the insanely expensive bottle of champagne and two glasses of water, we were both ready to order. "Could we please get the Buffalo mozzarella from campania with aubergine timbale and rocket salad as a starter and the Grilled fillet of Galloway beef with mix mushrooms and roasted potatoes for me please?" Louis ordered and shot her a charming smile which made Jenny hastily look over to me. "Um, could I please get the Risotto Con Funghi Misti E Burrata Pugliese?" I attempted to prounounce my food in my best Italian and she gave me a wide smile which I returned. "Absolutely. For the beef I would recommend the Umbria Rosso and for the risotto the Nebbiolo D'Alba Occhetti." We nodded in agreement and she disappeared again after filling our glasses with champagne.

"To a wonderful evening!" Louis raised his glass and smiled at me over the table. Quickly, I raised my glass as well and we clinked our glasses and then both took a sip of the overpriced champagne he had ordered. I had never had champagne before, but it tasted delicious and I enjoyed the prickling sensation on my tongue. "This is actually really good." I admitted with a sheepish smile and Louis pretended to flick his hair off his shoulder, making me laugh. "Harry would be able to do that." I commented with a wide grin and he rolled his eyes. "Yes, but Harry also wears sparkly boots." Our eyes met and both burst out laughing.

We chatted happily until our food arrived which turned out to be even better than I had expected it to be. "Best risotto I've ever had!" I managed to say between to bites and Louis laughed and nodded in agreement. "The food here is always bloody amazing." The time went by very fast with delicious food and great conversations and after sharing the best tiramisu I had ever tasted in my whole life, I was in food heaven and ready to go home. Louis refused to let me pay for the bill, or even consider a split of the bill and after a five minute discussion, I gave up with a huff and crossed my arms over my chest while Louis signed the bill next to a blushing Jenny. "Don't pout, love, someone could fall in love with your smile." I blushed furiously and secretly wondered whether he watched Teen Wolf, but I relaxed a little bit into my seat.

Jenny shifted her weight from one foot to another and played with her hands while Louis signed the bill. She cleared her throat and blushed deeply before she shyly asked him for an autograph. "I know this is very unprofessional, but I am a massive fan of your music. Would you mind signing something for me?" Louis gave her a warm smile and nodded. "Sure, love, thank you for the excellent service tonight." He scribbled down his signature and handed her a fifty pound note as a tip which she thanked him for at least four times before she left to get our coats.

When she returned she looked very concerned and I immediately started to worry. "Mr Tomlinson?" Jenny asked quietly and Louis looked up from his phone. "Unfortunately, one of our guests must have let it slip that you're here or someone must have seen you walk in, but there are at least fifty men with cameras outside." Louis cursed under his breath and my hand started to beat very fast. I wiped my suddenly damp hands at my dress, as discreetly as possible, and tried to ignore my panic attack. "Claire, are you okay?" My throat was too tight too speak so I just shook my head. "Hey, love, come here." He pulled my shaking body into a hug and whispered soothing words into my ear, gently stroking my back with his hand. "You'll be fine, I won't let anything happen to you. Promise." he assured me quietly and I nodded into his chest.

Jenny reappeared with a bulky security guard behind her and wished us good luck and a nice evening, thanking us once again for choosing the restaurant. After a last smile in her direction, Louis helped me into my coat and I kept my head down, letting my hair fall in front of my face to hide behind it. The security guard, who had introduced himself as John, walked in front of me, clearing the way to Louis' car, while Louis walked closely behind me, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist, shielding me from behind.

As soon as we stepped outside, we were blinded by the flashing cameras which were shoved into our faces. I held held onto Louis for dear life and tried to ignore the paps who were shouting questions at us, trying to get a reaction. "Who is the girl with you, Louis?" "Is she your new shag?" "Show us your face, darling!" "Is she your girlfriend?" Louis ignored the questions as well as he could and helped me get into the car, before he quickly walked around the car and shut the door behind him. "I am so,so sorry, Claire." he apologised immediately and started the car. I continued to hide behind my hair and kept my head down, trying to ignore the crowd which had formed around the car. John tried to clear a path for us, but the reporters weren't giving up so quickly. "Just drive." I said flatly, still in shock, and after shooting me a concerned look he slowly pulled out of the restaurant's parking lot and we drove all the way back to Hackney in silence.

When he stopped in front of my house, I didn't get out of the car straight away. "I am so sorry for what happened with the paps, Claire." Louis sounded upset and I looked up to see him already looking over to me, his blue eyes piercing into my green ones. "It's not your fault, Lou." He leaned over to me and cupped my cheek with one hand. "But I am famous. This wouldn't have happened if I wasn't so well known." I sighed and gave him a weak smile. "Louis, none of this is your fault, okay? I knew what I signed up for when I said yes to being your girlfriend. I never thought I would find myself in this position and there is a reason why I didn't want to befriend you when we first met, but the truth is that you are worth it." I blushed and we smiled at each other, before I continued. "I like you very much which is why I am risking my privacy to be seen with you. Same goes for Harry, Niall and Liam. Or Ed." I added with a wink and he chuckled. "I like you all very much and I would rather have a bunch of really amazing people in my life and maybe a bit less privacy, than miss all of you."

As soon as I had finished, Louis' lips were on mine. When he pulled away, he gently pushed a couple of loose strands of hair out of my face. "You are amazing, you know that, right?" I grinned at him and shot him a flirty grin. "I know." Laughing, he let go off me and climbed out of the car, before strolling over to my side to open my door. He walked me up to my flat and kissed me good night, before I closed the door behind me.

"Hey, are you okay?" I looked up and saw Lily standing in her door, already in her pyjamas, with a concerned look on her face. "The paps surprised us outside the restaurant after dinner." I told her quietly and her face fell. "Shit, did they did a shot of your face?" She quickly walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. "I don't know, but I tried to hide my face as well as I could." I said into her shoulder and took a shaky breath. "Shhh, you'll be fine." Lily patted my back and I nodded and pulled away from her. "I just wasn't ready to go public yet." I admitted quietly. "I know, C, I know. But we can still hope that they didn't get a good shot of your face and hope for the best, alright?" Nodding, I hung up my coat and took my boots off. "Do you wanna sleep over in my room tonight?" Lily asked me with a smile and I nodded and after a quick trip to the bathroom, we both snuggled into her bed and fell asleep quickly, bracing ourselves for whatever was to come the next day.


	63. Anchor Tattoo Or Why Niall Rides The Tube

I was woken up by my alarm around eight o'clock and groaned. Stretching my limps, I accidentally hit Lily in the face who responded by shoving me so hard that I fell out of the bed and landed on the cold floor with a loud thud that made Lily jump. "Why are you making so much noise? I still have two hours until I have to get up!" she complained. "Lily, you shoved me off the bed. I didn't wake up thinking 'How do I make the most noise today?'" I replied in a flat tone and she groggily opened one eye. "Did I push you off the bed?" I only raised one eyebrow at her and she mumbled a "Sorry" before she turned around and pulled her duvet back over her head. I scrambled to my feet and quietly left the room, turning on my phone in the process.

I had received four new messages, three of them from Harry and I had five missed calls. "Wow, chill." I said to my phone when it started to vibrate like crazy, apparently a lot of twitter mentions coming in. I filled the kettle with water and sat down at our kitchen table, opening the first message from Harry. "I just heard from Louis what happened, are you okay? xxx" The second one was "Shit, I just saw the photos online, call me if you wanna talk. xxx" The last one was the most recent one and had been sent half an hour ago. "I hope you are okay, love, I'm here for you if you wanna talk. xxxx" Without thinking I pressed 'call' and patiently waited until he picked up the phone. 

"Good morning." came Harry's deep voice through the phone. I noticed again how much deeper it was shortly after he had just woken up and was reminded off the two times when we had shared a bed. Blushing a bit, I smiled, before I replied. "Morning, Harry." There was a shuffle at the other end. "Are you okay? Have you seen the photos yet?" he asked, clearly concerned. "Nope, I went straight to bed last night and I only just got up. Are they bad? Can you see my face?" I asked him, panic threatening to overwhelm me again. "You can't really make out your face, love, but everyone who knows it's you will recognise you. But they haven't found a name to go with the photo, so you're not completely out there yet."

I let out a sigh of relief and poured myself a cuppa tea, while I tried to hold my phone between my head and my shoulder. Unfortunately, it didn't work very well and I caught the phone just in time before it hit the floor, preventing Harry from getting a tinnitus for the rest of his life. Well, an even worse one than what he already had from standing on stage for five years, surrounded by screaming girls. "I was just, oh shit, aaah!" I could hear Harry's laughter even before I put the phone back up to my ear. "What are you doing?" he asked amused. "Nothing." I brushed him off and successfully managed to fish the tea bag out of my mug, before I added some milk.

"So, tell me, apart from the paparazzi, did you have a nice evening?" he asked me in a teasing voice and a wide grin spread across my face. "I did, thanks. Louis took me to see the Lion King and then to a really good, but super posh restaurant, where we got drunk on amazing wine and a ridiculously expensive bottle of champagne." Harry chuckled. "Ridiculously expensive champagne does sound like something Louis would buy. But I'm glad you had a great time, love." I smiled widely and took a sip of my tea. "Sooo... I was wondering..." I started hesitantly. "Um, when would you like to go and get the tattoo?" My voice grew m towards the end of the sentence and I wasn't even sure if Harry had heard the last bit.

"The tattoo?" he asked, suddenly excited. "Would you like to get it soon?" I nodded and then remembered that he couldn't see me. "Actually, yes. Whenever you're free." Suddenly, very happy that I was alone in the kitchen, I pulled my legs up onto my chair to get a little bit more comfortable. "Wait... let me just check something..." There was a short pause and I heard some shuffling. "I don't know how free you are this week with uni and everything, but I would be free on Wednesday if that fits you? Derek, my artist, already said he'd be free this week. But that's only of course if like his style." I pulled my computer towards me and turned it on. "I'll check his designs in a minute, but Wednesday sounds great. I have an early lecture, but I could skip that." I explained to him and drummed my fingers on my table, while I waited for my computer to be ready.m"Are you sure? I don't want you to miss university just for me." He sounded skeptical and I quickly assured him that missing one lecture wouldn't kill me. 

Once my computer was ready, I opened Google and asked Harry for the name of the artist, before hitting enter. "Wow, I love them!" I exclaimed excitedly and scrolled down the photos of his work. "Are you sure he would do my anchor, as well, though? I mean it's one thing to do you on such a short notice, but it's another to tattoo a random girl he's never met." Harry's beautiful laugh sounded through the phone and I couldn't help but smile as well. "Don't worry about that, alright? Derek and I are old friends, and he'll be happy to help you out as well. It's not gonna be really big anyway, is it?" he asked. "No, I am not even sure about the placement yet, but it mustn't be visible because of my work and not too big. Probably somewhere on my back or on my upper thigh. We'll see." I took a long sip from my steaming tea and burned my tongue a bit. "I'm sure you'll figure something out, love. I'd be happy to help you out." I could pretty much see his smirking face in front of me and rolled my eyes. "Thank you, Harry. I appreciate the offer."

"No problem, love." he assured me. There was a short pause before I looked our kitchen clock and realised how late it already was. "Oh shit, I gotta go. My train goes in half an hour and I am not even dressed yet!" I squeaked into the phone. After a quick goodbye to Harry, I downed the rest of my tea, cursing when it burned my tongue, and then run into my bed room to put some clothes on. Make-up wasn't even considered, but when I was dressed and had brushed my teeth, I still only had five minutes for a ten minute walk to the next tube station. I literally run onto the platform when the train arrived and squeezed into one of the already packed compartment. 

The train abruptly started to move and I fell into the person behind me who caught me with ease. I looked up and saw a pair of blue eyes looking down at me, from underneath a weird hat, with a couple of blonde strands peaking out at the sides. "Niall?" I asked quietly and he helped me up, before quickly looking around to see if someone had recognised him. "Morning, love." He smiled down at me and then pulled me into a hug. "Hello bestie, how are you?" I heard his voice in my ear and I pulled away and grinned up at him. "Better now, that I've seen your beautiful face." I joked and he pretended to flip his hair over his shoulder. 

"Well, I was actually in a bit of a hurry because I talked to Harry for too long and then didn't really have any time to get ready." I told him and pulled a face, making him chuckle. "What are you doing here on the Tube during rush hour?" I asked him curiously, unable to find a reason why someone would do that to themselves if they had the money to get a taxi or take a car. "Makes me feel more normal, you know? I'm on the way to the studio." he added in a low whisper and grinned widely. "Really? Wow, I wish I could come and watch you, but I have a meeting with my tutor to get to." Niall patted my shoulder. "You'll be fine. Is Lily alright?" he asked, his eyes lightening up at the mention of his girlfriend.

"Well, she literally kicked me out of her bed this morning, but apart from that she was great and went back to sleep." His grin widened. "That sounds like my girl. You alright, though?" I nodded. "What were you doing in her bed in the first place?" he asked me and wiggled his eyebrows at me. "Not whatever you're thinking, Niall." I shook my head at his childishness. "Louis and I went out on a date last night and were caught by the paps and Lily tried to comfort me afterwards." I explained to him and he frowned. "Shit, are you okay, love?" he asked me concerned and I nodded. "They don't seem to have a clear shot of my face so at the moment the Internet is just speculating about Louis Tomlinson's new girlfriend." I rolled my eyes and Niall chuckled. "Ah, they'll get over it, love, trust me." 

His eyes wandered up to where the next station was displayed. "I gotta get off at the next stop, but you have a great day, alright?" He pulled me into a hug and then squeezed through the crowded compartment and disappeared out of the door, leaving me with a faint smile. My eyes fell onto a newspaper that a man was reading and I nearly fell over again, when I saw a huge photo of Louis and me on the title page. "Louis Tomlinson's new girlfriend?! - Boy band pop idol is breaking teenagers' hearts around the world" I rolled my eyes at the stupid caption, but was glad that you really couldn't see me very well. I lowered my head just in case and prayed that no one would recognise me today. Hearing my stop, I pushed myself through the crowd and out of the train, trying to be as invisible as possible while I fought my way to the nearest exist, ready for another, long day at uni.


	64. Chocolate Milkshakes Or How I Am The Best Member Of One Direction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter but new POV :)

Louis' POV:

I hadn't spoken to Claire since I had kissed her goodnight last night and she hadn't replied to any of my texts all morning, so I decided to surprise her and take her out for lunch or something. In my car, I quickly texted Lily and asked her if she knew how long Claire's lunch break would be today and started the car. A few seconds later I received a reply with a photo of Claire's timetable and a short not of praise for the idea of surprising her for lunch. I grinned to myself and hummed along to the radio while I drove to her university. 

Before I got out of the car, I pulled a beanie over my head to avoid being recognised and made my way over to her lecture theatre. After getting lost twice on the way, I finally made it just in time for her lecture to finish and casually leaned against the wall opposite the door. I didn't have to wait long for my beautiful girlfriend to make an appearance. She just looked effortlessly beautiful and I was such a lucky man to be able to call her my girlfriend. A pang of jealousy shot through me when I saw her talking to a guy who was looking down at her with pure admiration and affection, but I mentally slapped myself and waved a bit, making her look over to where I was standing. Her whole face lit up and she gave me a wide smile which I returned. Suddenly the jealousy was gone and the only thing I could focus on were her beautiful green eyes.

"Um, I'll see you later, Chris." I heard her hastily excused herself and then she casually strolled over to where I was standing. "Hello stranger." She winked at me and unsuccessfully tried to keep a straight face. "Hi weirdo." I greeted her and leaned in to give her a quick peck. "What are you doing here? What if someone sees you?" she asked quietly and suspiciously glanced around, but everyone else only seemed to care about getting to their next lecture or seminar as quickly as possible, so no one spared us a second glance. "I was worried about you after last night and you didn't text me back and I thought I could surprise you and take you out for lunch if you like." I sheepishly grinned down at her and I saw guilt flicker through her eyes for a second, before she replied. 

"Shit, I am so sorry, Lou. I did see your text this morning, but I was in a bit of a hurry and haven't had any spare time until now. And I would LOVE to go out for lunch with you. I'm starving!" I chuckled at her enthusiasm for food, which was only one of the reason why I liked her so much. "Alright, you're forgiven, love. Let's get out of here. I'll drop you off again for your 3pm lecture." I intertwined our fingers and started to walk, when she pulled me into another direction. "The car park is in the other direction." She was obviously very happy to have the upper hand for once and I happily let her pull me along to the car park.

When we were both comfortably seated in the car, I turned my head to look at her while she rummaged through her bag to find something. The sun was shining, making this cold February day feel a bit warmer, lightening up the beautiful features of the girl next to me. As always, a couple of loose strands were framing her face and she pushed them out of her face, without really noticing it. I just watched her for a few seconds, admiring her natural beauty, before she looked up and gave me a questioning look. "Are we gonna go anywhere or are we having a picnic in the car park?" She raised an eyebrow and shot me a knowing look. 

Chuckling to myself, I shook my head. "No, I was just admiring how beautiful you are, love." I admitted. Her cheeks turned a shade darker and I grinned to myself, satisfied to have made her blush. "Anything you fancy in particular?" She thought for a minute and stopped rummaging through her bag. "Could we go to McDonald's, please? I have been craving a chocolate milkshake forever now." She batted her eyelashes at me and I felt my face breaking into a wide smile. Reaching out, I gently pushed a couple of loose strands behind her ear and nodded. "Your wish is my demand." I joked and she laughed and looked down at her bag again. With a triumphant "Ha!" she pulled a chapstick out of her bag. 

"That's what you've been looking for all this time?" I asked her slightly amused and she nodded and flipped the visor down to apply the chapstick while looking into the small mirror. Somehow, she looked incredibly sexy doing that and I couldn't take my eyes off her. "Are you just gonna stare at me today or are we actually going somewhere?" She send a cheeky grin in my direction, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Wow, you're sassy today." I commented and started the car. "Just living up to my reputation." She leaned back in her seat and then turned her head, now intensely starring at me. 

"So, you are allowed to stare at me, but I can't stare at you?" I asked and she grinned smugly. "Just admiring your beauty." Rolling my eyes, I carefully drove out of the car park and throw a quick glance in her direction. She was still starring at me and obviously trying very hard not to laugh. "I'm not that beautiful." I told her and she scoffed. "Yeah, right." We stopped at a traffic light and I fully turned my head to look at her. "Why did you say it like that?" I asked her and she blushed a bit, but replied anyway. "Louis, have you looked at yourself? You are one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen! You have beautiful cheekbones and super long eyelashes, mesmerising blue eyes and a very nice bum." She winked at me, but still had the hint of a blush on her face and quickly looked out of the window, leaving me speechless for a few seconds. 

"So I have a nice bum, hm?" I asked her after a moment or two had passed by. She looked up and rolled her eyes when she saw the wide grin on my face. "Is that all you got from that?" she asked me and I smirked. "Well, apart from the bit where you told me what a beautiful and attractive human being I am, yes." She rolled her eyes again and shook her head at me. "You're impossible." Laughing, I turned into the drive way of the McDonald's car park, which was luckily very close to the university. "But you are still dating me." I told her with a smirk and she laughed. "That I am." Her eyes wandered over the car park and I nearly missed what she said next. "Although I'm still trying to figure out why." She said under her breath and I poked her waist, making her squeak. "Okay, okay, I do know why I'm dating you!" 

I turned off the engine and poked her again, making her squeal loudly. "Stop it! Louis!" Laughing, I tickled her a bit more, until she was out of breath and begged me to stop. "Say that I am the most amazing member of One Direction!" I demanded and she giggled and shook her head. "I mustn't tell lies." I leaned over a bit further, successfully trapping her in her seat. "Wrong answer, love." Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, no, no, no! I take it back!" I sent her a wide grin. "Now, let's try this again. Who is the most amazing member of One Direction?" She took a deep breath and send me a cheeky grin. "Niall?" 

I tickled her side a bit more and she squeaked. "I think I remember it now! It's this weirdo called Louis!" The tickling stopped and I was now hovering over her, half on my seat, half on hers and on the gear shift. "Good girl." I kissed her nose which made her crinkle her nose in the cutest way possible, making me smile. "You are a meanie." She told me in a stern tone, but her eyes were shining brightly, speaking a completely different language. I hummed and pressed a chased kiss to her lips. "Now, what about that milkshake?"


	65. Breakfast Talks Or How It Was Worth The Wait

On Wednesday morning, I woke up very excited. After Monday had gone smoothly, was now again a little bit more confident leaving the house with a member of One Direction without being immediately found by the paparazzi. I smiled widely when I remembered my lunch with Louis. He had totally made my day and had proved to me again how lucky I was to have him in my life. He didn't know anything about my existing tattoo and I was planning on surprising him with my new one as soon as it had healed a bit in a week or so. The only person who knew about my tattoo were Lily and Harry and no one other than Harry knew about my plans to get a second one. 

With a sigh, I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and grabbed a pair of jeans and a hoodie, picking out an extra nice bra which would be on display later on when I would get my tattoo. After a couple of seconds, my hand hovered over the lace bra Lily had talked me into buying and I hesitated. For some reason, I wanted to wear something special today. Making my decision in the split of a second, I grabbed the bra and quickly made my way towards the bathroom, not wanting to bump into Lily or Niall. Even though I hadn't seen him yet, I had heard him and Lily at one point through the wall last night. Fortunately, they had kept it down after I had knocked on the wall. Afterwards, I needed some Ed Sheeran to distract myself before I could finally go to sleep, but I was glad that they were happy and in love. They both really deserved each other.

The shower managed to wake me completely and I walked into the kitchen feeling fully refreshed. When the water in the kettle was boiling, I took out my favourite mug which had 'PROFESSIONAL FANGIRL' written over it. It had been a gift from Lily for Christmas and I immediately fell in love with it. "Morning." Niall greeted me cheerfully from behind and I jumped a little bit. "Shit, you scared me." I told him and put my hand over my now racing heart. He chuckled and apologised quickly, before grabbing himself a mug as well. 

"How come you're up so early? You two sounded quite busy last night." I asked him in a teasing tone and smirked at him, when I saw the hint of a blush on his cheeks. "We were indeed, thank you very much. But that doesn't mean you can't do an early workout, now does it?" He grinned widely and I shook my head and tried to get the mental image out of my head. "Please spare me the details." His laughter followed me over to the living room where I sat down on the sofa with my steaming mug of tea. 

Niall followed me into the living room with a big cup of tea as well and offered me one of his four slices of toast which I gratefully accepted. "Thanks. If you're already eating all of our food, the least you can do is offer me some as well." I commented and he send me a sheepish smile before continuing to happily munch on his toast. After a minute or two of content silence while we were both eating our breakfast, Niall somehow managed to finish his three toasts before I finished mine. 

"So, do you have any exciting plans for today?" he asked me and took a long sip of his tea. "Harry and I are going out for lunch or something like that, I haven't seen him since his birthday so a meeting is overdue." I explained and he nodded. "That sounds like fun. Is he picking you up?" I nodded and my eyes wandered over to the clock on the wall. "Oh shit, he'll be here in five minutes and I still need to brush my teeth!" I jumped up and in my hurry didn't watch where I was going, making me stumble over our carpet. With a squeal, I ungracefully slumped to the floor, my hands tightly hugging my precious tea mug.

Niall's laughter brought me back to reality and after a stern look in his direction, I run into the kitchen and placed my mug into the sink before rushing into the bathroom. After I had brushed my teeth, I decided that I had too little time for make up and rushed back into the hallway. The door bell rung just as I pulled my second boot over my foot and slightly out of breath, I pulled the door open to reveal a widely grinning Harry.

"You are already late again, aren't you?" he said as a greeting and bend down a little bit to pull me into a hug, pressing a light kiss to my cheek. "Well, good morning to you, too." I grumbled and hugged him back, and then pulled me coat from the hanger. When he saw that I was struggling to put it on, Harry quickly jumped to my help and I quietly thanked him. "Isn't that Niall's coat?" he asked me and nodded to Niall's jacket which was hanging next to Lily's leather jacket. "Yes, he stayed over last night. He's probably back in bed with Lily after a short breakfast." I pulled a face and he laughed. "Did they keep you awake last night?" I nodded and sent one last look in the direction of Lily's bedroom, before I stepped outside. "I don't want to think about it anymore, let's talk about something else, shall we?" 

Pulling the door shut behind him, Harry followed me down the stairs towards his car and held the door open for me. "How about how you're doing? Are you eating more?" He sent me a serious look and I nodded. "I am, I really am. I'm getting there, okay?" He climbed into the driver's seat and put his hand on my leg. "Hey, I'm just worried about you, alright?" I looked up at him and sent him a small smile. "I know Harry and I am very thankful for that." He gave my leg a light squeeze, before starting the car. "Are you excited?" he asked me, changing the topic to something a little lighter. "No." I said sarcastically and he chuckled. "Have you looked more into designs?" I nodded and patted my bag which was resting in my lab. "I draw something myself and printed some great stuff from the Internet which I liked and then we can design something together."

Harry nodded approvingly. "That's a great idea. I've been looking forward to this for a while now." he admitted openly and I blushed a little bit for no real reason. "Really?" I asked him and he nodded. "Thank you for waiting so long to get yours." I thanked him and he waved it off. "This was worth the wait." I smiled at his words and looked out of the window, watching the cars rush by as we waited at a traffic light. "You are saying that now. Just wait until you have to hold my hand and it feels like your fingers will break. I have a very strong grip." I warned him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him turn his head to look at me. "Like I said, it was worth the wait."


	66. Blushing Or How I Finally Got My Anchor Tattoo

Harry parked the car in front of the tattoo parlor and quickly walked around the car to open the door for me. After putting on my sunglasses, just in case we were seen, I let Harry help me out of the car and followed him into the parlor. Slightly nervous, I looked around and took in the atmosphere of the shop. A girl behind the counter gave me a friendly smile and immediately made me feel at ease. Harry, who had seemed to notice my nervousness, placed a hand on my lower back and gently pushed me forwards. "Hi Dee, how are doing?" She grinned at him and her eyes wandered over to me and then back to him. "Very well, what about you, Styles?" She smirked at him and he grinned. "Not bad, not bad. Dee, this is my friend Claire, Claire this is Dee. She's a bit of a weirdo, just like you, so you two should get along very well." I glared up at him and he laughed and tapped my nose. "You know that I still love you." 

My stomach flipped at his words, but I tried not to let them get to me. "Oh shut up Styles." I stepped away from his comforting touch and Dee, who had been watching our exchange with an amused smile on her face laughed. "Are you sure you two aren't dating?" I blushed deeply and helplessly looked up at Harry, unsure whether or not I could tell her about Louis and me and was surprised to detect the hint of a blush on his cheeks, as well. He smiled down at me and barely visibly shook his head, before looking back up to Dee. "No, we're just very good friends. She's dating one of my best mates." he explained and Dee nodded. "Ah, I see, well I'm sure you two aren't just here to chat to me, are you?" Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Actually, we're here to see Derek?" Dee nodded and held up her finger. "Give me one sec, I'll be right back." 

About half a minute later he returned with a guy who was maybe in his late twenties. His whole face lit up when he saw Harry standing in front of the counter. "Harry, my man, how are you doing, mate?" Did they this manly hug sort of thing and then he held out his hand for me to shake, which I immediately did. "And you must be Claire, Harry's friend. It's nice to meet you in person, Claire." I smiled up at him and then looked over to Harry who was watching us with a fond smile on his face. "Nice to meet you, too, Derek. Thank you for doing this." He returned my smile, before he replied. "No problem, love, any friend of Harry is a friend of mine."

With these words, he guided us into a back room and closed the door behind us. Immediately, the smell of disinfection and other sterilising equipment hit me and I excitedly looked around. "So, Claire, is this you first tattoo?" Derek asked and I shook my head and walked over to the table where he had already sat down. There was only one other chair and after Harry and I exchanged a look, he sat down and patted his thighs. Slightly hesitant, I carefully sat down at the very edge of his legs, however he pulled me closer to his body, making me sit a bit more comfortable on his lab. "This will be my second. I got my first one about two years ago." I explained to him and rummaged through my bag to show him my sketches and ideas. "Would you mind showing me the first one, just so that I know what kind of style you like?" Derek asked and I blushed a bit and climbed off Harry's lab. "Sure."

I pulled my jumper up and quickly unhooked my bra, pushing it to the side to make my tattoo visible. "That's a beautiful tattoo, love." Derek complimented me and I smiled, while awkwardly trying to close my bra again. "Here, let me help you." Harry said and got up. He walked behind me and I felt his fingers gently push mine out of the way, successfully closing my bra within seconds. "Thanks." I thanked him quietly, my face slightly red and reluctantly sat back down on his lab. 

"Um, I have some designs that I found online here." I handed Derek a couple of papers, including the one I had drawn yesterday. He picked it up and took a closer look at it. "Oh, I like this one. Who drew that?" I looked down at my hands, my cheeks burning like fire. "Me." I admitted and he looked up, clearly surprised. "That's amazing. I would love to use your design if you don't mind and add some small bits and pieces if that's okay with you?" I nodded excitedly and he spend the next five minutes bent over his scratch book, while Harry and I admired his art which was displayed on the walls around us.

"Finished." Derek exclaimed and I excitedly leaned forward, Harry's head poking over my shoulder, distracting me a little bit. "Wow, that's beautiful, I love it! And it's got the perfect size as well." I beamed up at Harry who seemed glad I was getting along so well with his friend. Derek was obviously relieved that I liked his work so much and got up. "Shall we do this then?" he asked me and I nodded. "Um, I'll just take off my top." I said shyly, my face now definitely resembling a tomato, and turned away from the two men. I pulled the jumper over my head and when I turned around to face them, they were both openly starring at me. 

I cleared my throat and their eyes snapped up. "My face is up here." I reminded them, half amused, half embarrassed. Harry cleared his throat and followed me over to the lounger where I sat down. Derek walked over to us with a mirror in his hand and told me to look into the mirror next to the lounge so that I could tell him exactly where I wanted the anchor. "Sort of at between my shoulder blades? Yes, there, a bit more to the middle, yes, perfect." Derek quickly traced the edges of the tattoo on my back, while Harry held the mirror for me and then asked me to lie down and to unhook my bra. 

I got comfortable and Harry sat down on a chair on my left side, taking my small hand into his big one. "I will crush your fingers." I warned him again, but he only chuckled and gently brushed a couple of loose strands out of my face. "I'll be fine, love, don't worry about me." Behind me, Derek had everything prepared. "You ready, Claire?" he asked me and I gave him thumbs up with the hand that Harry wasn't holding. "As ready as I'll ever be." 

Harry did have to suffer a little bit. After I had gotten used to the pain after a few minutes, I asked him to distract me and he happily complied to my request. Unfortunately, the stories he told were all very funny and I wasn't allowed to move to make Derek's work as easy as possible for him. "Harry you need to talk about something less funny or I'm gonna mess her tattoo up." Derek told him from behind me and Harry pouted and gave my hand a light squeeze. "Alright, alright. What else can we talk about?" Derek hit a nerve and I hissed and suddenly squeezed Harry's hand really hard, making his eyes widen. 

"Shit, sorry." I apologised at once, but he patted my hand and gave me a weak smile. "You did warn me, love, it's fine. But you have an impressively strong grip for such a tiny person." I glared up at him. "I am not tiny, I am concentrated awesome." Harry burst out laughing. "That's the best thing I've heard a short person say yet." I squeezed his hand again, just to make him stop laughing and his eyes wandered over to my bare back. "It looks amazing, Claire. Derek's nearly finished." My ears perked up at the good news. "Really?" Harry grinned down at me and nodded. "Really." 

After another five minutes of silent suffering, Derek was finally finished and I let out a sigh of relief. "I have no clue why you do this to yourself so often." I told both Harry and Derek and saw them exchange amused looks. "You kind of get used to it after a while, but the back does hurt quite a lot." Derek admitted and desinfected the area of the tattoo. "Would you like to have a look at it, before I wrap you up? But you can't put your bra on, until I've put something on it." Considering my options, I decided that I would risk flashing them just to see my new tattoo. 

Carefully, I sat up and clutched my bra to my chest, desperately trying to hold it into place. I hopped of the lounge and walked to the mirror where I turned around to have a proper look at my back. The anchor looked absolutely beautiful and I was so happy to have gone through the pain. "Wow, it's so beautiful, I love it!" I gushed happily and beamed at Harry and Derek. "I am happy you like it, love." Derek said, obviously happy that I appreciated his work. "Now let's get you wrapped up." I sat back down and he put some film over my new tattoo, before Harry helped me to carefully close my bra. Looking up, I saw him already smiling down at me, probably getting a good view of my cleavage. I discreetly crossed my arms over my chest and he grinned, obviously getting the memo. "Nothing I haven't seen before." he muttered under his breath and my head snapped up. 

"What did you just say?" I asked him, his face suddenly a nuance paler than seconds ago. "Um, nothing?" He asked in a very unconvincing tone. Derek excused himself to get some new colour for Harry's tattoo and we were left in an awkward silence. "No, you said 'nothing I haven't seen before'. What do you mean by that?" I asked him, slightly panicking. "Claire, lets not talk about this here, okay? It's nothing and Derek could be back any minute so-" But I interrupted him. "I don't care about Derek right now, Harry, why did you say that?" I asked him more forcefully. He kneaded his hands and didn't look me into the eyes when he answered. "I got a glimpse of you naked in the bathroom when I fell down, okay?"

There was a short silence while I was trying to process what he had just said. "So you've seen me naked?" He nodded and finally met my gaze. "But you said you didn't see anything." I said helplessly and I saw guilt written all over his face. "I didn't want to make things even more awkward than they already were." Humiliated, I looked down at my feet, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. "Hey, Claire, look at me." Harry gently lifted my chin up and forced me to meet his intense gaze. "Please don't be embarrassed, love. This doesn't change anything, alright? And just that you know, you are very very beautiful." I buried my face in my hands and Harry pulled me into him, careful not to touch my tattoo. 

Derek appeared back in the doorway and cleared his throat. "Um, sorry to interrupt." I immediately stepped out of Harry's embrace, who was watching me intently. "I'll go and prepare the gun, mate." Derek told us and Harry nodded absentmindedly, his eyes still on me. "Claire?" I looked up and jumped a bit when I saw Harry standing so close to me. "Are we okay?" he asked shyly and I nodded. He let out a sigh of relief and walked over to the lounge where he pulled first his jumper and then his shirt off. He seemed to be relieved that we were okay, but I wasn't. When Harry had said this didn't change anything, he was wrong. It changed everything.


	67. Tattoos Or You Do You

My eyes were watching Harry getting his eagle tattoo, but my mind was in a completely different place. However, I was paying enough attention to admire his toned body and his flexing biceps which he had on full display. No one who found men somewhat attractive should even try to think about a serious issue when a half-naked Harry Styles is in the room. It just was not going to work. He was having an animated conversation with Derek, widely gesturing with his right arm, and a part of me was fascinated by how little the whole process of getting a tattoo seemed to bother him. 

As if he was suddenly aware of my presence again, he turned his head and shot me a concerned look. "Hey, are you okay? You've been awfully quiet during the past few minutes." My eyes snapped up and I gave him a weak smile. "I'm fine, Harry. Just... thinking." He nodded, but kept studying my face, looking for something. "I'll be done in a few minutes and then we can go out for lunch if you are still up for that. Or just get some takeaway and eat at my place." he offered and I shrugged. "I'm not that hungry anymore, so whatever suits you best." I admitted quietly and an expression of concern passed over his face, before he could cover it up with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"We'll talk about it when we're in the car, alright?" I nodded and pulled my legs up to my chest, continuing to watch Derek work. The two men continued their chat until the tattoo was finished, while I starred into the distance. "Claire?" Harry's voice pulled me back into reality. I looked up and saw him standing in front of me, in all of his shirtless glory. "Would you like to have a look?" he asked and I nodded, suddenly excited. He held out his arm and I carefully took it in my hands and pulled it closer to me, examining his freshly inked skin. "It looks great, Harry." I told him and gave him a wide smile, this time a real one. "Amazing job, Derek!" I said a bit louder and got a 'thank-you' from Derek who was packing up his equipment for his lunch break.

Suddenly very much aware of the close proximity of Harry's naked chest, I quickly let go off his arm and leaned a bit back in my chair. "I'll, uh, I'll go and get it patched up and then we can pay and get out of here." Harry stuttered and quickly walked back over to Derek, returning to me about a minute later, this time with his jumper on. "Ready to go?" he asked and offered me his hand to pull me up, which I hesitantly took. He pulled me to my feet, but kept his fingers on my wrists for a bit longer than necessary, until Derek cleared his throat.

We followed him out of his room and back to the counter where Dee was already waiting for us. "Hey, guys, how did it go?" she asked us excitedly and Harry rolled up his sleeve and showed off his new tattoo. "That looks sick. Good job Derek!" she gushed and Harry and Derek looked equally happy at her words. Then she turned to me. "Anything you could show me?" I shook my head. "Not in public at least." I said with a grin and she giggled. "Not what you think; it's on my back between my shoulder blades and that's a bit difficult to show now. But Derek took a photo, I'm sure he's happy to show it to you." She nodded and then turned to Derek and gave him puppy eyes. "I'll show it to you later, Dee. I only have half an hour before my next customer comes in."

I got out my wallet to pay for my anchor, but Harry gently pushed me to the side and held out his credit card. "No, no, no, no, Harry! No way. You are NOT paying for my tattoo!" I protested, but he completely ignored me. "Harry Edward Styles!" Derek and Dee watched the scene that unfolding in front of them with mild amusement. "Uh oh, you're in trouble, mate." Derek mumbled in Harry's direction. "Claire, please let me pay for your tattoo. It was my idea and I have tons of money with no real use for it and I don't know anyone else I would rather invest it in, alright?" I huffed and crossed my arms in front of my chest. "I just don't want to use you." I explained and he nodded and bend down a little so that we were on eye level. "Claire, I would never, ever think that of you, alright? You are one of the least selfish people I know and everyone knows that. If it makes you really happy you can pay the tip." he offered and I agreed to the compromise. 

After we had both payed our parts, Derek gave us both a hug and Harry turned to walk out the shop, but I stopped him with my hand. "Dee?" She looked up from the computer and smiled at me. "Yes?" I grinned and chuckled to myself before I asked her. "Without wanting to sound super weird, are you by any chance from New Zealand?" Her eyes lit up and she nodded. "Born and bread there. 100% kiwi." she joked and I laughed. "Why are you asking?" she asked and I shrugged. "I lived there for a while and loved it and your accent sounded familiar." She grinned and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "That sounds awesome, where did you stay?" I let go off Harry's arm and took a step back towards the counter, very much aware of Harry's curious gaze on me.

"I lived in Wellington, but I spent a lot of time in Hawke's Bay because we have some family friends there. Where did you grow up?" She send me a smile of approval. "Whakatane, which is at the coast of the Bay of Plenty. It's pretty small. About an hour away from Rotorua or Tauranga if that helps." She added with a laugh when she saw my blank face. "I've been to Rotorua, so I have kind of an idea where Whakatane is." I chuckled. "Anyway, it was nice to meet you, Dee." She walked around the counter and gave me a short hug." It was really nice to meet you, too, Claire. Treat her well, Styles." She jokingly threatened Harry who nodded and did a mock bow. "Always at your service."

Laughing, we exited the shop an walked over to Harry's car where he opened the door for me again. When he was seated in the driver's seat he sent me a questioning look. "Food?" I nodded. "I'm really not in the mood to be seen by the paps today, could we just get some takeaway somewhere?" I asked and he immediately nodded. "No problem, anything in particular?" he asked and I shook my head. "As long as it's vegetarian, I'm fine." He hummed and pulled out of the parking lot. After a few seconds of silence, Harry spoke up again. 

"You never mentioned that you spent some time in New Zealand." I looked over to him in surprise. "It just never came up, I guess? There are still a lot of things you don't know about me." I smiled a bit and he chuckled dryly and then shifted his focus back to the road in front of him. "I don't want things to be awkward between us, Claire." I sighed and looked out of the window, unable to look at him. "Harry, this whole thing was awkward from the start. It's not your fault, I mean I can't exactly blame you for looking." I told him. "I probably would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed." I admitted quietly and dared a quick glance in his direction. 

Our eyes met and I hastily averted my gaze. "Then what is it, Claire?" I took a deep breath and watched the cars which were passing by the window. "Claire?" Harry's deep voice made me look up. "I have never, I mean, I've never..." I gulped, before I finally admitted it. "I've never slept with someone, alright? No one has ever seen me naked before, well not at least until you came along, just down to bra and panties or a bikini, you know?" I kept my eyes fixed on the cars outside, my fingers nervously playing with the hem of my coat. The car stopped and I saw that Harry had pulled into a parking lot in front of a small park.

"Claire?" I looked up and saw his green eyes intensely looking down at me. "Being a virgin is NOTHING to be ashamed of, alright? I am so sorry, that I kind of took something special from you because I know that this is is a big deal to you. I'm sorry." He reached out and took my hands into his. "But I'm twenty-two for fuck's sake." I groaned and he chuckled. "Still nothing to be ashamed off. You do you, okay? Don't let society tell you what to do, alright?" I nodded and he pressed a kiss to my hands, before he let go off me. 

"Just please don't tell Louis about this." I requested quietly and I saw something change in his eyes, but couldn't really tell what it was, before he replied. "Of course not." I smiled gratefully and he turned back around to face the wheel. "Now, how about some Indian takeaway, just to uphold our tradition?" he asked teasingly and I nodded with a grin, the awkward tension between us suddenly a little less. "Indian sounds great." We smiled at each other before bursting out laughing and I felt like a big weight had been lifted from my chest. "Indian it is, then." 

*******************

Harry's words earlier in the car had really hit home for me. "You do you." In my opinion this was either the best of the worst advice someone could give you, depending on what kind of situation you found yourself stuck in. In my case, I felt like it was one of the best pieces of advice I had received in a while. My dad had once said something similar to me, when I was a young girl sitting on his knee. I still remembered his words as clearly as if it had been only yesterday.

"Claire, people will always have an opinion of you, no matter what you do. You can excel in every area of your life and people will still have an opinion of you, good or bad. But it is up to you if you let these opinions influence you. This is your life and you are the only person who gets to decide what you're gonna do with it, okay? So if someone tells you that you aren't normal for doing something or weird because you do something different, that's their opinion. It doesn't have to affect you. Just live your life and don't judge others for living theirs."

I turned around in my bed and stared at the wall, my eyes wandering over the photos. My eyes stopped on a very recent addition of a photo of me, Harry and Louis which had been taken at Harry's birthday party. I was in the middle, framed by these two gorgeous men who I still couldn't believe were part of my life, very important parts as well. My eyes wandered further to the left and I smiled sadly when I looked at the photo of me and my dad. It had been taken last year on his birthday and we were both smiling widely into the camera. 

The hole in my chest, which had been aching since his passing, opened up again and silent tears hit my pillow, making the fabric of my pillow feel damp underneath my cheek. The rain outside drowned out any noises apart from the constant noise of the dripping water outside my window which had a very soothing effect, almost reassuring. My phone gave a buzzing sound but I ignored it and kept my eyes fixed on the photo on the wall. It kept buzzing, but I didn't have the strength to answer it and after a while the caller had seemed to give up.

I didn't know how long I had been lying there, tears still silently running down my cheeks, when someone opened my bed room door and wordlessly climbed over me to lie down next me. A strong arm wrapped itself around my waist and suddenly I was surrounded by a familiar, comforting warmth that only very few people could provide to me. He just held me and let me grief, his presence providing the comfort I didn't know I had been craving. "How are you here?" I managed to croak out and I felt his smooth lips press a light kiss to my forehead. 

"You know, when your girlfriend doesn't answer her phone, you do start to worry after a while," I turned around and saw him look down at me with a look of concern in his eyes, a lopsided smile on his face. "Sorry" I whispered almost inaudibly, but he smiled down at me and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. "You're forgiven, love." He leaned in and pressed a long kiss to my forehead, before he let himself fall back into the pillows next to me. "How did you get into the flat though?" I asked him quietly, while he drew random patterns on my hand. "Lily had a spare key made for Niall and gave me one as well." Louis explained and I raised an eyebrow at this new information. "Good to know." I commented dryly and he chuckled.

"Feeling a bit better now?" he asked me, still not completely convinced that I was okay. "I'm fine Louis, or at least I will be. I always knew that this wouldn't be easy and it still hurts so incredibly much. There is this hole in my chest and I don't know how to fix it because the person who used to be there won't come back. I can now only learn to live with this hole and I think that will take some time. Just bear with me, okay?" I begged him and he immediately nodded, his face suddenly very serious. 

"Claire, I've said it before and I will happily say it again. I like you, a lot. And I will be here for you as long as you will have me and I will help you get through this and live with this pain. I'm not going anywhere, alright, love?" Unable to say anything, I just nodded and he pulled me into him and rolled over so that my head was resting on his chest, his arms holding me close to his body. I listened to the steady beat of his heart which calmed me down and after a while, the tears stopped, leaving Louis' t-shirt wet and my cheeks tear-stained, but I was feeling a little better again.

My stomach made a loud rumbling noise, reminding me that I hadn't had any dinner yet and I felt Louis' chest vibrate underneath me from silent laughter. "Dinner?" he asked and I groaned, but sat up anyway. "Dinner." He smiled at me and then got up, holding his hand out for me to take. After pulling a hoodie over my t-shirt, I took his hand and followed him to the kitchen where he made us both a big bowl of pasta which we ate together in front of the TV, where we watched 'Grease'. 

"Thank you for coming over when I didn't answer my phone." I said quietly as we watched Sandy and Danny sing about their summer romance. His blue eyes wandered from the screen down to meet my green ones and he smiled at me. "Any time, love." he assured me. With a sigh, he carefully placed his empty bowl on the couch table in front of him next to mine and pulled me into him, watching the rest of the movie with a sleepy girlfriend sprawled over his lap and a happy smile on his face.


	68. Accidental Confessions Or How I Can Now Happily Die In Peace

The next morning, I woke up with my head resting on Louis' naked chest with our legs intertwined. The last thing I remembered was watching Grease with Louis on the sofa, so I assumed he must have carried me into my bedroom. "Morning, love." Louis' hoarse morning voice greeted me and I shifted slightly to see him looking down at me with a fond smile on his face, which I returned. "Morning." He pressed a light kiss to my lips before he poked my nose. "Oi, stop doing that!" I whined and he chuckled, as I hid my face behind my pillow. "But you look so adorable when you scrunch up your face like that." I glared at him and then groaned and let myself fall back into my pillow, pulling the duvet over my head.

"Ugh, I just wanna stay in bed all day, but I have to evaluate my research, especially those interview recordings I did last week." Louis' head poked over the edge of the duvet, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "We could stay in bed all day? Together?" He wiggled his eyebrows and I chuckled but shook my head. "I have to study, sorry." He pouted and then started laughing when my stomach rumbled loudly. "Come on, love, let's feed you and then I'll leave after breakfast." He climbed out of my bed and pulled his jeans over his legs, before holding out his hand for me. With a sigh, I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and pulled a hoodie over my pyjamas, before taking his hand. On my way out, I grabbed my long-forgotten phone from my night stand and followed Louis into the kitchen.

When I unlocked my phone, I saw that I had received six missed calls from Louis and four text messages. I opened the ones from Louis which asked me to call him back as soon as I read this and then noticed that the fourth one was from Ed Sheeran. I squeaked and waved my phone through the air, making Louis look up from his own. "Ed Sheeran sent me a text!" Louis grinned at my behaviour and tapped something on his phone. With trembling hands, I opened the text message and my mouth fell open. "Ed Sheeran has invited me TO HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY!" I squealed and burst out into tears making Louis laugh. He was now filming me, but I was too excited to care. "Oh My God. My life is now complete. I can now happily die." I wiped away the tears and sent Louis and his camera a stern look. "Put the damn phone down, Tomlinson."

To my surprise he obeyed and wiped his eyes as well. "That was so worth waiting for. You are such a fangirl, Claire, I love you." My head snapped up and my eyes went wide. I stared at Louis who seemed to realise what he had just said and visibly paled and then blushed. "What did you just say?" I managed to croak out. "You are such a fangirl?" Louis asked, but I shook my head. "No, I mean the bit after that." With two big steps he was in front of me. Gently, he cupped my face with his hands and carefully stroked my cheek with his thumb. "Shit, I wasn't planning on saying it this way. I was going for something a bit more romantic because that's what you deserve, Claire." His blue eyes were burning into mine and I had trouble forming a coherent sentence.

"How would you have said it?" I asked him breathlessly and I saw him gulp, before he replied. "I would have done something special, definitely more romantic." He gave me a lopsided smile and bit his lip. My knees were feeling like they would give in under my weight at any second, but somehow I managed to stay somewhat stable. "I love you, Claire. I love the fact that you are always hungry. I love the look on your face when you concentrate really hard and the way your face lights up when you have found the solution to a problem. I love how passionate you can get about random TV shows and your favourite musicians." He smirked down at me and I blushed even more if that was humanly possible.

"I love the fact that your heart is way too big for you and how much you care about other people and their problems, even when it means put yourself second. I love how you try to make everyone around you at ease and how you never give up and just keep fighting. But most importantly, I love you for you. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever had the fortune to meet, inside and out, and I feel so lucky and honoured to be able to part of your life for however long it may be. Just the fact that I have had the immense luck to have met and gotten to know you makes me one of the luckiest men alive."

I had tears in my eyes and hastily tried to blink them away, but they spilled over and wet my burning cheeks. Louis carefully caught the tear drops with his fingers and gently wiped them away. "Lou, I..." I started but he shushed me and put a finger over my lips. "Shhhh, you don't have to say anything. I didn't expect you to say it back, love. I just needed to say it, although I had planned it out in a slightly different way."

With a shaking hand, I gently removed his finger from my lips. "No one has ever said something so beautiful to me." I admitted and wiped away another tear that was making its way down my cheek. "No one has ever told me they loved me the way you just did Lou. I never ever expected to find someone who could fall in love with me. Ever. I like you very, very much, Louis, I really do. It's just... I am a mess and I am still trying to put myself back together after everything that happened and I am not emotionally stable enough to make any kind of decision at the moment and when I say those three words for the first time, I want to mean them from the bottom of my heart. Just give me some time, okay? Please be patient and bear with me, Lou." I felt so guilty for not being able to say it back just yet, but he seemed to understand what I was trying to say.

"Claire, I don't expect you to say anything right now, alright? I admire yoou so much for being so strong and I completely understand everything you just said. We'll just take one step at a time, you and me together, as a team." As a response, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me until my lips met his. We kissed for a couple of minutes, our kiss getting more and more heated and passionate with every second, until we were once more interrupted. "Oi, no sex in the kitchen, kids! This is a holy place!" We jumped apart.

Niall was standing in the doorway with a wide smirk on his face, only wearing his boxers. His blonde hair was tousled and he had a very suspicious red mark on his neck. "Jesus Christ, Niall, put some clothes on for God's sake, will you?" Louis asked and after a wink in my direction, Niall disappeared back to Lily's bedroom where he had just emerged from. "I didn't even hear them come in last night." Louis shook his head and walked over to the sink to fill the kettle with some water for tea.

A few seconds later, Niall reappeared in the kitchen, this time dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, followed by an equally dishevelled Lily. "Morning." I greeted them, and blushed slightly under Niall's amused gaze in Louis and my direction. To distract myself, I walked over to the kettle and started making tea for everyone. Louis followed me and leaned against the counter, watching me with a wide grin on his face, while the other two sat down at the kitchen table. "Stop staring at me, Tomlinson." I mumbled and Louis chuckled. "Just admiring my beautiful girlfriend." Rolling my eyes, I fished the last tea bag out of the mug and started to pour the milk in, but couldn't hide the blush on my cheeks.

Together, we carried the four mugs over to the kitchen table and sat down. "So when did you two get in last night?" Louis inquired and Lily and Niall exchanged a look before Lily replied for both of them. "Late." They giggled and Louis and I exchanged amused looks. "Well, I hope you were safe." Louis commented dryly which made Lily choke on her tea. Niall immediately jumped to her rescue and patted her back, while glaring at Louis. "Unlike some people here, we are both responsible adults." He gave Louis a pointed look and I coughed, but didn't dare to say anything. 

"Also, I don't think you are in any position to say anything, after what I have just walked in on." He raised an eyebrow at us and I had the decency to blush a bit. Lily shot me a look which clearly said that we would talk later, before Niall continued. "So to answer your question, not that it's any of your business, yes, we were safe. But what about you two, any tiny Tomlinsons running around here any time soon?" This time I choked on my tea and after Louis made sure that I was okay, he shot Niall an angry look an opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by Lily.

"Boys, boys, boys, let's not turn this into a pissing contest, now, shall we?" she asked and put a hand on Niall's arm who visibly relaxed under her touch. "Aye, let's talk about more important stuff, like what everyone's going to wear for Ed's party. It's a costume party, after all." My ears perked up and I jumped, spilling my tea in the process. "A costume party?" I asked excitedly and the others laughed at my excitement. Louis got up and returned seconds later with a tea towel to wipe up the tea. "Did you not read that bit?" he asked me and I shook my head. "I was too excited about the first sentence and then I, um, got kind of distracted." I admitted, my cheeks turning a shade darker. Lily shot me a curious look, but kept her mouth shut so I was expecting to be questioned as soon as the boys were gone.

Suddenly, I got a brilliant idea for a costume and gestured Louis to lean a bit closer. I whispered the idea into his ear and his whole face lit up, his blue eyes sparkling with love and happiness. "God, I have never liked you more. That is a brilliant idea! We can get dressed at my house and then surprise everyone. I knew there was a reason why I asked you to be my girlfriend." He pressed a kiss to my lips and then grinned at the other two who were watching us with curious expressions on their faces, but didn't dare to ask about the nature of the costume.

He downed the rest of his tea in one big gulp and then stood up and put his empty mug into the sink. After a goodbye kiss to me, he waved at the others. "I'll leave you study and you two to whatever you're up to." With one last smile in my direction, he disappeared into my bedroom to retrieve his clothes and a minute later, the front door closed behind him. I gulped down the rest of my tea as well, and followed Louis' example. After I had placed my mug in the sink I waved at the others. "Alright, lovebirds, I have some work to do, but you enjoy your day, okay?" With one last smile, I skipped into my room to get some clothes and then hopped into the shower where I tried to wrap my head around what had just happened in the kitchen.


	69. Danny And Sandy Or How I Embarrassed Claire

Louis POV:

I was standing in front of the mirror in the ensuite bathroom of my bedroom and was painfully aware that my girlfriend was taking a shower and getting ready in the other bathroom opposite the hallway. It was the night of Ed's belated birthday party and we were both separately getting ready for the party. We had collectively decided that we would go as Danny and Sandy from Grease and I was now trying to style my hair into the quiff Danny had in the film. I was weirdly reminded of being back in high school again, getting ready for the school production and I suddenly felt really old. 

The thought of the tight trousers that Claire was gonna wear made me want to step right back into the shower, but there wasn't enough time for that, so I just readjusted myself and hoped for the best. I hadn't slept with anyone since I had met Claire and sometimes it had been very hard for me with women literally throwing themselves at me, but I had too much respect for Claire right from the very start and now that we were dating there was no way I would cheat on her. For some reason, we had always been interrupted so far and I also had the feeling that she wasn't ready yet. I wasn't sure if she had had any bad experiences, but I wanted to show her that I loved and respected her and I also wanted to earn her trust, so I waited. 

Finally satisfied with my hair, I shrugged on the black leather jacket and sprayed some cologne on myself and then stepped out into my bed room where I checked whether the window was properly closed. The last thing I needed was someone breaking into my house. It was highly unlikely that someone would actually get that far with all the heightened security and the normal looking front of the house, but our fans were excellent detectives and I would not make the mistake of underestimating them ever again.

I gently knocked on Claire's door and got a "One Second!" as a reply, so I resisted the urge to step into the room and waited in the hallway. Looking down at my watch, I saw that we only had five minutes left before we had to leave. The door swung open and my jaw dropped. In the door stood the most attractive and at the same time beautiful female human being I had ever laid eyes on. I openly gaped at her and let my eyes roam up and down my body, before I met her eyes and gulped a bit. My trousers were suddenly uncomfortably tight and I found it very hard to breathe normally. 

"Claire?" I somehow managed to ask and she winked at me. "Tell me about it, stud." she quoted the movie and did a little spin. The skin tight, black high waisted leggins she was wearing hugged her curves at all the right places and all I wanted to do was to drag her into the bedroom and never make her leave. Apparently, she was feeling quite bolt herself because she playfully run her hand up my chest, sending shivers down my spine. I cleared my throat and gently pushed her hand off my chest. "We should really get going now, otherwise I can guarantee for nothing. We might not even make it to the top of the stairs." I smirked at her and was satisfied to see the hint of a blush. She held up a finger and turned around to get her leather jacket from the bed, giving me an excellent view on her bum.

"Eyes up, Tomlinson!" she called from the bed and threw one last look into the mirror before she turned around and smirked at me. "You can't exactly blame me when you are wearing something like that." I helplessly gestured to her outfit and she giggled and took my hand, pulling me down the stairs. I quietly admired how she could somehow easily walk on those heels and threw one last look in the mirror before I pulled out my phone. "We need to take a photo of this." I told her and she nodded and tried to fix her still flawless hair. "You look beautiful, love, nothing to fix." I told her, making her blush, and I grinned down at her, enjoying the effect I seemed to have on her as well. I pulled her close to me and held up the phone, taking a couple of funny selfies of us. 

Laughing, we stumbled out of the door and I opened the car door for her and helped her in, before climbing into the driver's seat. "Won't you drink though?" she asked concerned and I chuckled and nodded. "Aye, I will, but I will just pay one of my regular drivers a taxi ride to Ed's house and then he can drive us home and I'll also pay for his ride back home, as well." I explained to her and she nodded and relaxed. Her right leg was nervously bouncing up and down and I gently placed my hand on her thigh when we stopped at a traffic light. "Hey, no need to be nervous, love. I'll be there with you and Harry will be there and Niall and Lily as well. And probably some other people you have met at least once, as well." She hummed in response, but didn't seem any more relaxed. I reached over and loosely intertwined our fingers, giving her hand a light squeeze, before I had to let go to change the gear.

When we pulled up in front of Ed's house, the party was already in full swing and loud music could be heard outside from within the car. I silently apologised to the neighbours, but knowing Ed he had probably either invited them as well, or at least given them some expensive wine or champagne as an apology, or payed for a hotel room or something like that. I stopped the car and quickly jumped out to help Claire out of the car. 

Two long legs appeared in the car door and a man who was walking passed the house openly gaped at her when she climbed out, until he noticed my glare and quickly whipped his head around. She started walking towards the front door, but I stopped her and pulled her close to me. Two incredibly green eyes were looking up at me and all I wanted to do in this moment was kiss her insanely red lips, but that had to wait for later. "Hey, will you be okay?" I asked her and gently stroked her cheek with one finger. She gulped, but then nodded and forced a smile on her face. "I will be fine. I have you at my side and the others." I pressed a light kiss to her forehead and then intertwined our fingers, guiding her to Ed's front door.

We rang the door bell and only had to wait a couple of seconds until Ed, dressed as a pirate, opened the door for us. "Hi, good to see you, mate." He pulled me into a one armed hug and his jaw dropped when his gaze fell on Claire. "Claire, wow, you look fantastic!" She blushed deeply and I chuckled and lightly stroked the back of her hand, trying to calm her down. "Thanks, Ed. Happy belated birthday!" She handed him an envelope and he beamed at her and pulled her into a short hug. "You didn't have to bring me anything, love." Her blush deepened and she gave my hand a tight squeeze, which I returned. "I have her reaction to when she read your text recorded on my phone." I told Ed, as we stepped inside into the warmth of his house. Claire glared at me and silently tried to tell me to shut up, but I was having way too much fun with this. "Really? I'll have to see that later. Let's get you something to drink!"

He took my arm and pulled us through the crowd into the kitchen where he had an impressive collection of bottles with a huge variety of liquor spread out around the kitchen. "Help yourselves to anything you want." he told us before he disappeared back into the crowded living room. "What would you like to drink, love?" I asked her as she looked around the kitchen and admired the design. "Um, anything that's not too bitter and gets me very drunk very fast. I need something strong if I have to talk to people tonight." she added quietly and I mixed her a drink before making myself something, as well. 

With a grateful smile, she took the drink from my hands, and then let me guide her into the living room, my hand securely based on her lower back. I nearly immediately spotted Harry who was having a deep conversation with someone I didn't know and I could tell the exact moment when he spotted us, or should I say the exact moment when he spotted Claire. His whole face light up and his eyes widened in shock when he took in her appearance. Our eyes met and he gave me an approving nod, before giving Claire a smile and turning back to his conversation. I took a big sip of my drink and gently pushed her further into the room. It was gonna be a long night.


	70. Drunk Or How I've Always Had A Crush On Will Turner

Louis guided me through the crowd and I looked around on the search for a familiar face. My eyes met Harry's and he gave me a small smile, which immediately made me feel better, before he turned back around to continue his conversation. Louis walked us to the window, greeting people here and there, while I started to regret my outfit. As amazing as I looked in it, I also could feel the stares of every male we passed and only Louis' protective hand on my back prevented me from running out of the house again. 

Without wasting time, I downed the majority of my drink and tried to look as relaxed as possible. "Hey, easy tiger." Louis' concerned voice said into my ear and he shot me a concerned look. "I'm fine." I reassured him and discretely downed the rest of my drink when he wasn't looking, already starting to feel its effect, as I hadn't had any dinner. Louis had started chatting to a young man, probably a bit older than us, and I smiled shyly when he introduced us. His intense gaze made me feels slightly uncomfortable and I awkwardly shifted my weight from one foot to the other. 

After a couple of minutes, I spotted Niall and Lily, dressed as Princess Leia and Han Solo. Whispering an excuse in Louis' direction I pressed a light kiss to his cheek, before I made my way over to the two of them. "Hey, guys, nice outfits!" I complimented them and Lily beamed at me, until she took in my costume and her eyes widened. "Holy shit, Claire, you look hot! If I wasn't with Niall and slightly bi or gay in any way, I would be dragging you into the next bedroom right now." she joked and I laughed. Niall's eyes wandered up and down my body and he let out a low whistle. "Wow, Claire, you look amazing! How has Louis kept it in his pants so far?" he asked me and I grinned and looked over to Louis, who was watching us. He winked at me and I blushed a bit and turned back around. "I think he's managing alright." I commented dryly and they laughed.

Happy to have found someone who wasn't constantly eyeing me in a creepy way, I chatted to Lily while Niall disappeared to get us three some drinks. When he returned, I decided that it was time to join Louis again who was now talking to Nick Grimshaw who I admired and liked a lot. Only looking down at my drink to avoid any spilling, I promptly bumped into someone and nearly spilled the drink over the two of us. "Careful, love." I looked up and saw Harry beaming down at me. My heart skipped a beat when I realised that he was dressed as one of my favourite characters ever, Will Turner from Pirates of the Caribbean. Intentionally, or not, he definitely had an effect on me. 

"Well, hello, there." I greeted him and pulled him into a hug, careful not to spill my drink on his shirt. I swayed lightly, my second drink already half gone, and had to hold onto Harry for support. "Easy, there. Are you alright, love?" I nodded and giggled when he raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm fiiiine, Harry." I told him, but he shook his head at me. Looking up, I saw Louis watching us intently and then looked up at Harry again who gestured something at Louis who nodded. The next thing I knew, was that Harry was gently guiding me into the kitchen where he sat me down on a chair and walked over to the sink to fill a glass of water for me.

When he returned to the kitchen table, he pulled a chair out for him as well and pushed the glass into my hands. "Here, drink." he advised me and I took some tentative sips, before I pulled a face. "Water doesn't taste good." I complained. Harry chuckled, but insisted that I drank at least half of the glass. "So, tell me, why are you already so drunk? Is everything okay?" he asked me, and took my nearly empty drink out of my hand and placed it out of my reach. "I've already told you, Harry, I am fine. Now, let me get back to my boyfriend." I stood up and stumbled lightly, two strong hands immediately steadying me. 

"Easy, love." When I reached for my drink again, he stopped my hand and I glared at him. "You've had enough for now. Let's get you back to your boyfriend, shall we?" I nodded, but suddenly my legs refused to carry me and I would have slumped down to the floor, if Harry hadn't caught me. "Shit, Claire, how much have you had to drink?" I held my finger a couple of inches apart and giggled, suddenly finding this whole situation very funny. "When was the last time you had something to eat?" Harry asked me sternly and gently placed me back onto a kitchen chair. "Um, I think I had breakfast." I told him and he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Okay, love, you wait right here and I'll get Louis, alright?" he asked me sternly and I nodded obediently. When he saw my eyes wander back to my drink, he took it and poured the remaining rest down the kitchen sink, ignoring my protest. I hummed to myself and stared at the door where Harry had disappeared. About a minute later he returned with a stressed looking Louis. "Claire, love, are you okay?" He kneeled down in front of me and took my hands into his. "Why didn't you tell me you hadn't had anything to eat yet? I would have made you something." I shrugged and he sighed. "We need to get you to sober up, maybe a coffee will help. I'll ask Ed." Harry nodded approvingly and he disappeared again, leaving me alone in the kitchen with a very attractive Will Turner lookalike.

"Did you know that I've always had a crush on Will Turner?" I asked him and he chuckled and shook his head. "Is that so?" he asked with a grin and when he saw me slumping over to the front, swiftly stepped in front of me and held me up. My head started spinning really badly, and I held onto Harry's arm to stop myself from falling over. "Claire?" I tried to react, but for some reason I couldn't. "Shit, what the fuck did Louis and Niall put into your drinks?" he cursed quietly. "Claire, do you feel like you need to throw up?" he asked me and when I nodded, he quickly hoisted me up into his arms and carried me bridal style into the nearest bathroom. 

We run into a panicking Louis and a concerned Ed on the way, who quickly proceeded to the kitchen to make me some coffee. Harry carefully sat me down in front of the toilet and held my hair back when I emptied my stomach in Ed's toilet. That seemed to have sobered me up a little bit and I leaned back against his chest and took some deep breaths. "I am so sorry, I'm such a failure." I mumbled quietly. "You are not a failure, Claire, you are just hurting and made a mistake which can happen to anyone. Let's get you back to the kitchen and sober you up, alright?" I nodded and stumbled a bit when Harry helped me up to my feet. "Sorry." I apologised again and he put an arm around my waist to guide me back into the kitchen, assuring me that it was no big deal.

Back in the kitchen, Louis immediately pulled me into a hug. "Are you feeling better?" I nodded and he pulled away a little bit. "I was so worried when I saw you lying in Harry's arms." he admitted and pressed a kiss to my temple, before forcing me to sit down and drink the coffee he and Ed had prepared. I pulled a face, but drank it anyway under the watchful eyes of the three men in the kitchen. "I'm sorry I worried you so much." I apologised again, my speech now less slurred and I could feel the water and the coffee doing their magic after a couple of minutes. "Just never drink so much on an empty stomach again." Harry asked me seriously and I promised them that I would be more careful in the future. After I had sobered up enough to stand steadily on my own feet, they allowed me back into the living room, but I was officially cut off for the rest of the night, and remained under the watchful eyes of the two men who I was the closest to in the room. 

The night went on and even though I wasn't allowed any more alcohol, I still, or maybe because of that, had one of the best nights I've had in a while. At some point, the DJ found it very funny to play 'You're The One That I Want' and Louis' face split into a wide grin and he pulled me onto the dance floor where he started to reenact the scene from the movie and under cheers of the crowd, I complied and pretended to be Sandy. Louis spun me around and in that moment, I didn't even care that tons of people were watching us or that at least a dozen people were recording us on their phones. The look of pure bliss and happiness on Louis' face was enough to make me feel intoxicated as well. 

When the song ended, we bowed and Louis wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me off the dance floor and into a corner. Slightly out of breath we stared at each other, a wide smile on both of our faces. Louis cupped my face with his hands and pressed a kiss to my lips. "You're bloody amazing, love, have I mentioned that before?" I laughed and nodded. "Not today, but you might have mentioned it once or twice." His hands which had been sitting on my waist and were now slipping down a bit further, but I stopped him, very much aware of the people around us. "Not here." I whispered into his ear and pressed a light kiss just underneath his ear, satisfied to see goosebumps erupting around the spot my lips had just left. "You are making it really hard for me to not drag you away into a bedroom right now." Louis grumbled into my ear and playfully nipped my ear lobe, making me squeak and squirm under his grip. 

Someone cleared their throat behind us and I turned around to see an amused Ed Sheeran standing behind me. "I assume that you're feeling better, love?" he asked me and I blushed and nodded. "I do, thank you. Louis forced me to eat something, sorry about your yogurt by the way, and I have been cut off alcohol for tonight, and potentially the rest of my life." I pulled a face and he laughed and shared a look with Louis. "Well, sober or not, you're quite the dancer." I blushed even more and felt Louis' chest vibrate against my back from silent laughter. He was obviously enjoying this way too much and I discretely elbowed him right above where it hurts the most as a warning, and his grip on my waist momentarily tightened. 

"I need to get something to drink." I told the two men and when they opened their mouths in protest, I rolled my eyes. "Nothing with alcohol in it, I promise. Puking my guts out once a night is enough. I just need some liquid down my throat after our little dance show." I patted Louis' arm and shot Ed a smile, before stepping into the crowd. "Wait, I'll come with you!" I heard a voice behind me and saw Ed following me through the crowd. "Has Louis asked you to follow me because he doesn't trust me?" I asked him as he joined me on my way through the crowd. "No, I actually wanted to talk to you." Ed explained and my ears perked up. Shooting him a questioning look, I squeezed passed two girls who were wearing amazing unicorn costumes, but he shook his head and mouthed a "Not here."

Finally in the kitchen, my eyes fell on the chair I had sat on earlier and I blushed, embarrassed by my earlier behaviour. I walked over to where all of the soft drinks were positioned and decided on some Fanta. While I poured myself a cup of the sweet, orange liquid, I watched Ed pour himself something a little stronger. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" I asked him curiously and he looked up. Taking a swig from his whisky, he walked around the kitchen isle and leaned against it, facing me. "I talked to Harry on the phone a couple of days ago and he mentioned that you write." My eyes widened and I silently cursed Harry for telling anyone my secret, but not seeing how I could deny anything, so I walked over to the kicthen table and sat down. After a few seconds, I nodded and looked down at my hands. 

"He also showed me the song you gave him for Christmas." I head shot up and I stared at Ed like a deer caught in the headlights. "This little..." I caught myself and forced a smile onto my face. "Did he now?" He chuckled and nodded. "He also told me that you have never shown or played anything to anyone." I nodded and silently wondered where this conversation was going and whether the alcohol still had a lot more effect on me than I thought it would. "I, um, I wrote that song about a year ago and he saw it hanging on my bedroom wall at my parents, sorry, my mum's place and he seemed to really like it so I gave it to him for Christmas." I blushed even more and looked down at my hands again. "I didn't think anything special about it."

"Look, don't be mad at Harry for showing it to me, okay? He only showed it to me because he thinks you are really, really good and you could make it very far as a song writer. And I have to say I agree with him." On the inside I was having an emotional meltdown, so I tried to compose myself before I looked up again. "You are kidding, aren't you?" I asked him and he chuckled and shook his head. "Not, really, no. I do understand, that you don't want to perform, but you can't waste a talent like that, Claire. You can write songs without being the one to perform it. There are many songwriters who never perform, but just write brilliant music." He tried to convince me and for a second, I actually let myself consider that option. "Ed, I... I won't lie and say that this is probably one of the biggest compliments I have ever received from anyone, and the fact that it comes from you makes me wanna scream at the top of my lungs." He chuckled and grinned at me, very well aware of what a big fan of his music I was. 

"It's just... I write for myself, and myself only. I don't want to go into the music business. I am writing my dissertation right now and I am planning on starting my master in autumn. I want to make a change in the world, as stupid as that may sound, and I know that my heart lies in politics, just as much as in music. The difference is, politics is something I am already familiar with. It's a world I can somewhat calculate. The music business is tough and hectic, and I am just not ready to see my name in the writer's section somewhere or to hear one of my songs on the radio, yet." I took a big gulp out of my cup and looked up at Ed who was watching me. "Now, I get why Harry and Louis like you so much. You were just offered one of the biggest opportunities in the music industry and you declined it to go into politics and make a change in the world. If that's not selfless, than I don't know what else is." My face was probably bright red by now and Ed's blue eyes twinkled when he looked over to me.

"I just want to ask you one more thing." he said and I nodded and encouraged him to go on. "When was the last time you put yourself first? When was the last time that you did something because you wanted it? How many times have you denied yourself something just because you are too scared of the consequences or because you don't believe you deserve something? Just think about that, love, alright? You don't have to make your living by writing songs and you don't even have to use your real name. Just promise me that you'll think about it?" he urged me and I nodded, too stunned to say something. 

He gave me an encouraging smile and started walking over to the door, but my voice stopped him before he reached it. "Ed?" He turned around and looked at me. "Thank you." I smiled at him, which he returned. "Could you tell Louis, I'll be back in a minute? I think I just need a moment to myself." I asked him and he nodded. "Sure, love. I'll probably see you around." With that he left me in the kitchen, slowly sipping on my Fanta, suddenly re-contemplating my whole life and my dreams and wishes for the future.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A deep voice interrupted me and I jumped a little bit and looked up. Harry was standing in the kitchen door, his green eyes watching me intently. "Why did you show Ed my song, Harry?" I asked him without hesitation and realisation flashed across his face before he sighed and gently closed the door behind him. He walked over to the kitchen island and refilled his cup with some of the expensive alcohol, Ed had provided. "I fell in love with the song the first time I read the lyrics. Even though I have never heard the song, it spoke to me in a way that not many songs do and I just had to tell someone about it. So when I was hanging out with Ed, I told him about the song and how you don't want anyone to hear it and then he asked to see it and I would trust him with my life so I showed it to him." He looked at me from the other side of the kitchen and took a look sip from his drink.

"But I trusted you, too." I told him quietly and looked down at the drink in my hands again, watching the small bubbles float to the surface where they popped. There was a short silence before Harry spoke again. "I am sorry that I broke your trust, Claire." Harry's voice was suddenly a lot closer and when I looked up, I saw him kneeling in front of me. "Ed is one of my best friends and so are you and he is one of the best songwriters of our generation. I knew your song was amazing, but Ed knows a good song when he sees one and I want you to get all the chances in life that you deserve. And I truly believe that you could make it big as a songwriter, Claire, I really do. I get that your heart beats for all the disadvantaged people and all the problems in the world, but I also know that you live for music and this would be your chance to do both. Just please think about it, okay?" He cupped my face with his hands and I gulped and blinked away a tear. "I'll think about it." I gave him a weak smile and his eyes lit up. 

The door opened and we immediately jumped apart. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was starting to get worried about you, love. But you are obviously in good hands." Louis said dryly from the door and Harry immediately got up. "I only helped Claire out with an important decision she has to face, Lou, nothing to be jealous about." Harry told him in an appeasing tone, but Louis shot him an unconvinced look. "You have been helping her an awful lot lately." I got up and walked over to Louis to stand between the two men. "Louis, I swear nothing happened between me and Harry, alright? Ed offered to help me start a career as a songwriter and Harry saw me sitting here thinking about it so he talked to me." I explained to him and a look of hurt flashed through his eyes, before it turned into one of defeat. 

"You never even told me that you write, love." Louis told me quietly and I felt pang of guilt which I immediately pushed away. "I guess, it just never came up? Please don't be upset about this, Lou." I begged him, but he pushed me away from him. "I don't even know if I actually know you anymore." He shot me one last hurt look before he walked out of the kitchen, his whole composure slumped and defeated. I helplessly watched him walk out of the kitchen and back into the living room. "Claire, I-" Harry stared, but I held up my hand. "You don't need to apologise, this is my fault, Harry. I messed this up and I'm gonna fix it." I said, determination in my voice. Taking a deep breath, I run a hand through my hair and followed Louis through the crowd.

It took a couple of seconds until I found him outside, smoking a cigarette alone in the darkness. "I don't want to talk to you right now." he told me and dropped his cigarette to the ground where he crushed it with the tip of his boot. "Louis, I am sorry. I am so sorry. I know I messed up and I feel like shit about it. I have a hard time opening up to people. I got hurt so badly once that I thought I would never commit to a relationship again because I was scared I could get hurt again. But you changed that, Louis. You walked into my life and just kept popping up and kept telling me that we could work to a point where I let myself believe that. It's different with Harry. I think I find it easier to open up to him because I cannot picture myself in a relationship with him. Me, Claire Winters, the girl from Norfolk, with someone like Harry Styles? Yeah, right, like that's gonna work. I know that Harry is my friend and will probably always be one of my best friends, but you? You are this amazing guy who somehow fell in love with someone like me and I have no idea how I deserve this, but I am so grateful to have you in my life. And I promise you here and now that I will try harder. I will try to open up to you more and let myself be happy with you. Just please, give me another chance."

There was a silence and the only thing that could be heard was my sound of my breathing which quickly turned into the sound of the shattering of my teeth. I was only wearing a short, thin top which wasn't really covering much and the cool night started to crawl underneath the thin fabric. Louis sighed and took his leather jacket off before stepping closer to me and gently placing it around my shoulder, before pulling me into him. "I am not perfect, Lou, but I am really trying here." I whispered into his chest and I felt him take a deep breath. "I am not angry with you, love, just hurt." His lips pressed a light kiss to my forehead and I smiled a bit. "Tonight hurt, but in some ways I understand where you are coming from. Let's just try to be more open with each other, alright?" Pulling away a little bit, I saw him looking down at me and gave him a tentative smile which he returned. "Thank you." I pressed a light kiss to his cheek, but before I could pull away, he turned his head and suddenly his lips were on mine, giving me yet another reason to keep fighting for our relationship.


	71. The Alien in My Stomach Or The Return of the Jedi

The next morning, I found myself half undressed in a very warm and comfortable bed. I snuggled deeper into the blanket and let out a loud sigh until I heard a chuckle. My eyes flew open and I was met with the beautiful sight of a shirtless, slightly dishevelled Louis Tomlinson grinning down at me. I groaned and closed my eyes again. "Too much beauty for you, this early in the morning?" he asked me, his voice laced with amusement. Nodding, I pulled the duvet over my head and tried to shut out the light. 

Moments later, the duvet was gently pulled out of my tight grip and I squeezed my eyes shut until I felt Louis' lips lightly touch my forehead. My lips automatically spread into a smile, but I kept my eyes shut while he continued to place light kisses all over my face, slowly, but determinedly making his way down to my mouth. He stopped right at the corner of my mouth, teasing me, until I couldn't take it anymore and turned my head so that his lips were on mine. We kissed for a couple of seconds until I pulled away and eyed him sternly. "You tease." He grinned and placed a light kiss on the top of my nose. "But you love it." Not knowing how to respond to that without making things awkward, I just smiled at him and leaned in for another kiss until I felt the urgent need to visit his bathroom. 

Louis pouted when I threw back the duvet, but his mood immediately changed when he saw my exposed legs. Somehow, I had only pulled off my tight trousers last night and was still wearing the thin black shirt and my underwear, but my legs were fully exposed. Self-consciously, I pulled the shirt down as far as I could, but it was too short to even remotely cover my bum, much to Louis' satisfaction. "No need to hide, love, I quite like the view." He winked at me from his comfortable position in his bed and I blushed and made my way across the room to his bathroom as quickly as possible.

When I returned, Louis looked up from his phone and his eyes widened when he saw that I had gotten rid of my shirt after I had discovered how much it smelled like smoke, and unfortunately puke, from last night. Very much aware of my half-naked appearance, I crossed my arms over my chest and walked back towards the bed as quickly as my legs could carry me, immediately pulling the duvet up to my chest. Louis, however, had something different in mind. Before I could even do more than blink, he was hovering over me, holding up his weight with his arms. Surprised, I took in a sharp breath and tried to control my accelerated heartbeat, while discretely admiring his naked upper body. 

"You can't just walk back in here like that, only dressed in your underwear and expect me to stay calm, love." he said huskily. My cheeks turned a shade darker and he smirked, obviously pleased with the effect he was having on me. "I can't?" I asked a bit helplessly, trying to figure out a way to gain my control back. His eyes narrowed and he leaned in a bit more, gently pushing his hips against mine, making it impossible to notice how much an effect I had on him. "No, I'm afraid not." He started placing gently kisses down my neck and his mouth wandered closer to the edge of my bra, sending shivers down my spine. "So beautiful." he murmured and looked up at me, his blue eyes examining my flushed cheeks and my messy hair, before dipping his head down again.

"Louis, I..." I started and he looked up, his full attention now back on my face. "I've never... you know..." I helplessly waved my hands through the air, not really doing a good job at explaining what i meant. By now, my face most likely resembled a tomato and I looked away from him, too embarrassed to meet his gaze. "Claire?" Hesitantly, I let my eyes wander back to Louis who gave me a reassuring smile. "Even though I have no idea how someone as beautiful as you hasn't had a long line of guys begging you to sleep with them, this doesn't change anything, okay? We won't do anything you are not comfortable with, love. If you want to stop, we'll stop. You call the shots, alright?" He pressed a light kiss to my forehead and I nodded. "So I'll literally call the shots?" I smirked at him and when he realised what I was playing at, he burst out laughing. "Yes, indeed." He pressed another gentle kiss right between my breasts, before he rolled off me and propped his head up with his hand, watching me with a fond smile. 

"There is something I wanted to show you." I told him quietly and he gave me an encouraging smile. "Um, I wanted it to be a surprise and, well, I got the first one two years ago, but it's kind of hidden so you wouldn't have seen it yet." With practiced hands, I swiftly unhooked my bra before I took a deep breath and turned around. I heard Louis take a sharp breath, before I felt his fingers lightly trace the outlines of my anchor and then the lines of my first tattoo. "When did you get this done?" I heard his voice come from behind me, while he lightly traced the words inked into my skin. "Um, the quote and the birds about two years ago and the anchor last week. That's why it's not completely healed yet. Harry took me; he wanted to get his cover up for the 'things i can' tattoo on his right arm and invited me to tag along." 

There was a silence and I reached out and tried to close my bra again, not completely ready to go topless in front of Louis yet, especially not after how quickly the situation had escalated minutes earlier. My hands were gently pushed out of the way as he helped me to close my bra again and I turned around, anxious to face him. "You know, I am a bit sad that Harry saw this first, but... I have to say I didn't think I could find you any more attractive and I am happy to admit that I was wrong." He grinned at me and I relaxed a bit and gently started to trace his tattoos, making goose bumps appear on his skin. Leaning in, I pressed a light kiss to his chest just above the 78. "You know you are making the whole 'be respectful and wait' thing really hard for me, love" he said hoarsely. I smirked and looked up at him, to see that his eyes had turned a shade darker. "Sorry?" I asked him and he shook his head and laughed. "You never have to apologise for that, love, quite the contrary."

He pulled me back in and we spent another twenty minutes in bed, until my grumbling stomach reminded us that it hadn't been fed in a while. "The alien in your tummy has spoken." Louis chuckled with a grin and I narrowed my eyes at him. "Alien?!" His grin turned into a smirk and he nodded. "How else can you explain that the massive amounts of food you can eat seemingly disappear into thin air?" Helplessly, I shrugged and he laughed and climbed out of bed, before walking over to his closet and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and one of his t-shirts, which he threw over to the bed before pulling the sweatpants over his legs. 

Gratefully, I slipped into the over-sized t-shirt which gained me an approving look from Louis. "Somehow, all of my clothes seem to look a lot better on you than on me." I did a little twirl, before pulling my messy hair up into a pony tail with a hairband that I had found on the floor next to Louis' bed. "I can assure you that you look a lot better in your clothes than I will ever do." I replied to his comment and he shook his head, but simply held out a hand for me to take, before pulling me out of the door and down the stairs towards his kitchen. 

*******************

The next few days, I didn't see a lot of the outside world and mainly spent my time in front of my desk or in the library working on my dissertation. I wanted it to be excellent to get the chance to be accepted into a good university for my master's degree, so I put hours and hours of work into it. On Friday night, I was once again engrossed in my work and didn't even look up when I heard the door bell go. Lily's bedroom door opened and I heard her walk down the hallway to the front door and then a pair of deeper voices and some laughter. 

A few seconds later, my bedroom door opened and when I looked up, I saw Harry's head poking through the door. "Hello there, stranger." he greeted me with a grin and let his eyes wander over the piles of books and stacks of paper spread all over my desk and across the floor. "How is your dissertation coming along? Your university wants it quite early, doesn't it? I remember that Gemma had more time." He stepped into the room and my eyes lingered on his chest which was exposed by his only half-buttoned shirt, before I took in the rest of his appearance. "We only have until mid-May, but at least I will be done before my birthday." I run a hand through my messy hair. "I think you'll need a hairbrush for that." Harry commented in a dry tone and I stuck my tongue out at him, which he returned. 

We had a little starring contest for a couple of seconds, until we both burst out laughing. "So, what brings you to my flat on a Friday night?" I asked him and let my chair twirl around. He sat down on my bed which I had luckily made this morning and smiled at me. "Well, Nialler and I were working on a song this afternoon and he wanted to see Lily, no surprise there, and he wouldn't shut up about her so I agreed to tag along because I didn't really talk to you at Ed's party after the puking incident and I missed you and wanted to see how you're doing and if you wanted to join us for a movie night." My face spread into a smile and I nodded. "I would love to. I really need a night off. And Lily won't shut up about him either." I chuckled and he grinned as well. "What did you write the song about?" I asked curiously and his grin turned into a smirk. "Well, when Niall wouldn't shut up about how amazing Lily is, I suggested to channel his love and write a love song about her and that's what we did." he explained and I let out an "Awwwwe." which made him laugh. "They are so in love, it's disgusting." I commented and he nodded. 

He gracefully climbed off my bed and reached out for my hairbrush before holding it out for me. "That bad?" I asked him, and self-consciously felt around my head, before I tried to untangle the mess on my head. "Well, it's quite the look." Harry smirked, but when he saw my concern he quickly added "You still look gorgeous though, don't worry." I blushed at his words and continued to struggle with my hair, until he stepped forward and gently took the hairbrush out of my hands. "Sit down, I'll untangle your hair for you." He lightly pushed me onto my chair and gently started to tuck at some strands.

When he was finished, I reached out for a hairband, but his hand stopped me. "Don't, I like your hair better when it's flowing around your shoulders like that." he admitted quietly with a faint blush on his cheeks and I lowered my hand into my lab. "Movie time?" I asked he smiled and held out his hand. Hesitantly, I put my hand into his and he pulled me up, immediately letting go off my hand as soon as we reached the door.

In the living room, we were greeted by an enthusiastically eating Niall, who was munching on a bowl of mac'n'cheese, and a happily glowing Lily who were cuddling together on one of the sofas. They both waved at us when we entered the room, before they got distracted as Niall unsuccessfully tried to feed her with a spoon full of pasta which unfortunately missed her mouth, making the pasta slide down her chin before she could stop it from falling down her shirt. Everyone burst out laughing and after a questioning look to Lily, I wandered off into the kitchen to get my own bowl of mac'n'cheese, followed by a quietly humming Harry. When we both had our own bowls of pasta, and one for Lily as well, we returned to the living room and got comfortable on the sofa.

"So, what are we watching tonight?" Niall said in between to bites and looked over to me and Harry on the other sofa. "Oh, can we watch Star Wars?" Lily asked excitedly and exchanged a conspiratorial glance with Niall before they both grinned at me and Harry. I shot Lily a look and when I turned my head, I saw that Harry wasn't too enthusiastic either. "Come on, guys, it will be fun! Don't be such spoilsports!" Niall tried to guilt-trip us into watching the movie. Both of them looked so excited and happy that it was nearly impossible to say no. Harry and I exchanged a defeated glance and then nodded. "Yay, let's watch episode six!" Lily suggested with a wide smile and hopped off Niall's lab. She basically bounced to the TV and I was glad that she was having such a good night, even if it meant that I had to endure Star Wars again.

"So I am taking from your reaction that you are not a massive Star Wars either?" I asked Harry, before taking another big spoon from my pasta, and he shook his head. "No, not really. I would prefer Lord of The Rings or Harry Potter, when it comes to this big movie series. But Niall has made me watch these films countless times and Louis and Liam are quite into them, as well, but at least I can mostly convince Liam to watch Harry Potter instead." He chuckled and shoved another big spoon full of pasta into his mouth, making me giggle. He raised his eyebrow at me which only made me giggle even more before he swallowed his pasta and gave me a questioning look. "What's so funny?" I bit my lip and tried to stop laughing, but it was no use. "The way you eat is adorable. You always poke out your tongue in such a funny way." I explained to him between giggles and he shook his head at me. "It's a lot less messy that way." I hummed and got comfortable on the couch, as Lily dimmed the lights and climbed back onto Niall's lab. "You're just weird." I told him quietly and he poked my side which made me squeak and Niall and Lily shooting me a serious look as the opening credits appeared on the screen. 

"I have to admit that the music is fantastic." Harry whispered into my ear and I squirmed a little in my seat, when his curls tickled me. "It's amazing, aye, but so are Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings." I whispered back and I saw his eyes twinkle with mischief before he leaned in to whisper the next question into my ear. "Or Pirates of the Caribbean?" I immediately knew what he was playing at. I still couldn't believe that I had told him about my crush on Will Turner when he was dressed as him at Ed's party. My cheeks felt suddenly very hot and I was glad that it was dark in the living room. "Hmmm, that one, too." I agreed. 

Harry chuckled and put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his chest. "Let's try to get through this." he whispered into my ear and I nodded and leaned my head against his chest, as we watched Luke start his mission to rescue Han Solo. "Do you think they have ever role-played as Princess Leia and Han Solo?" Harry whispered into my ear and I burst out laughing, making Lily and Niall shush me, before they turned their action back to the screen. I looked up and saw Harry grinning down at me, looking very smug with himself. The rest of the movie past by surprisingly fast with Harry's entertaining comments whispered into my ear and before I knew it, the movie was over and it was already half past twelve.

Harry stretched his arms above his head, making his shirt ride up, and I couldn't keep myself from starring at his toned stomach before Lily cleared her throat. I looked up and she shot me a knowing grin to which I responded with a helpless shrug. Louis was allowed to look at women, too, so I could admire some beauty when I had it directly in front of my eyes. Niall and Lily carried the dirty dishes into the kitchen and Harry stood up and pulled me up as well. "I should go home, I bet you have a very busy weekend ahead of you." I pulled a face and nodded. "I need a holiday. A very long one." He chuckled before he took my hand and pulled me into the hallway where he slipped into his worn-out boots and his grey coat. "Goodbye, Lily, bye, mate!" He shouted towards the kitchen and Lily and Niall poked their heads into the hallway and waved before disappearing into the kitchen again. 

He stepped towards the door and opened it, before turning around and pulling me into a tight hug. "Thank you for making this movie so entertaining." I mumbled into his chest and he laughed. "My pleasure. It was good to see you again." He pulled away a little bit and smiled down at me. "It was good to see you, too, Harry." I admitted and his dimples popped up, making me smile. "I better go." A hint of sadness lay in his eyes, before he leaned in and pressed a chased kiss to my cheek, stepping outside into the cold, dark staircase. "Good night, Harry." I waved a bit and he waved back. Before he disappeared downstairs he poked is head up again. "Keep a weather eye on the horizon, love!" With these words, he was gone and I was left alone standing in the cold stair case, wondering if anyone could ever take him seriously if they knew that he could quote Pirates of the Caribbean.


	72. Little Black Dress Or It's Time To Get Up

I was woken up by alarm clock at eight o'clock on Sunday morning and hastily turned it off to avoid waking up Lily. It was her twenty-third birthday and I wanted to make her breakfast and have a nice brunch before Niall would pick her up for the day. The two of us had secretly planned a little get together with all of her closest friends and she didn't have a clue what was gonna hit her. As silently as possible, I made my way into the kitchen and prepared a big breakfast with pancakes, some bacon for her, hot chocolate, coffee, tea, fruits and yogurt among many other things. Usually, the food probably would have been enough to feed a whole football team, but the two of us were both food lovers and I was sure that Niall would happily help us out if we had leftovers.

Around nine am, I gently knocked on her door, didn't get a reply. I creeped up to her bed and turned the volume on my phone up to 100% before I pressed play. One Direction's "It's time to get up!" song blared loudly through her bedroom making her grown and pull her blanket over her head. After another couple of seconds, she poked her head out of her sheets and glared at me. An evil smirk appeared on my face before I clicked on the next song. 'Stole My Heart', the only One Direction song that Lily absolutely hated, started playing and she groaned and went back into hiding. Laughing, I turned the volume down and got comfortable next to her on the bed. 

"Happy birthday, my friend." I poked her side and she squeaked and moved a bit further to the left. "I made breakfast." I tried it again and after some shuffling her head poked out of her blanket again. "Breakfast?" Her whole face lit up and I chuckled. "Yes, I made pancakes and bacon and hot chocolate..." But after the word 'bacon' she was already halfway out of the door. Laughing, I followed her and found her sitting at the kitchen table with a wide smile on her face. "I love you so much for this." she told me and looked down at her bacon with a fond smile on her face. "Food is definitely the way to a girls' heart." I nodded in agreement and piled three pancakes onto my plate and added some fruit. "Niall should probably step up his game." I joked and she laughed. "Niall who?" 

The next hour and a half, we just sat in our cozy kitchen, chatting about everything that came to our minds, while stuffing our faces with as much food as we could possibly eat. At eleven o'clock, the doorbell rung and Lily literally bounced to the door, completely ignoring the fact that she was only in her pyjamas, leaving me alone in the kitchen. A minute later, Lily returned to the kitchen, this time accompanied by Niall who gave me a quick hug before he sat down at our table. His eyes lit up when he took in the food that was still left on the table. With a welcoming gesture, I invited him to help himself and he gave me a look of pure joy and happiness before he dug in. "I'll go and take a shower really quickly, alright, honey?" Lily asked and ruffled Niall's hair who was too engaged with eating to protest. He just nodded and she pecked my cheek, before she disappeared into the bathroom.

When Niall had finished off the majority of the food, the two of us put the rest back into the fridge and then moved to the living room where we spread out over the two sofas. "Where are you taking her today?" I asked him curiously. With a wide smile he got a bit more comfortable on the sofa before he replied. "We are driving down to the beach for today and will be back by eight o'clock tonight. Nothing too exciting just some long walks along the beach, some fun, a nice lunch and hopefully some privacy." he explained and my heart warmed for my Irish friend on the sofa next to me. "That sounds fantastic, Niall, she's gonna love it." He beamed at me and then looked up when we heard the bathroom door open.

"We're in the living room, love!" he called out and Lily, now freshly showered and fully dressed, appeared in the living room door. He jumped to his feet and walked over to her. "You look beautiful." he complimented her and she blushed and giggled like a teenager. They kissed, but stopped really quickly when I started making gagging noises in the background. When they both turned around to look at me, I innocently inspected my nails and gave then a charming smile which made them laugh. "Come on, let's leave our future politician to her studies and go on an adventure!" Niall exclaimed and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the hallway. After a couple of "goodbye!"s and "see you later!"s, the front door closed behind them and I was alone.

For the next couple of hours, I went back into my room and worked on my dissertation, before I took a long shower. I didn't bother to put anything but my underwear back on after stepping out of the shower, as I would be alone for another two hours and decided to start the party preparations. I put One Direction on shuffle and started cleaning and tidying our flat, while singing and dancing along, occasionally sipping on some wine I had had left in our cupboard. During 'Little Black Dress', I went into full dance mode and danced around the living room with no care in the world, moving up and down the pole of the mop. "That was kind of what I had in mind when we wrote the song." Louis' voice interrupted me and I stopped dead in my tracks, completely in shock. 

Slowly, I looked up towards the living room door. Louis was casually leaning against the door frame, his eyes hungrily taking in my appearance and I secretly cursed Lily for giving him a key. As gracefully as possible, I pulled myself up and tried to hide my burning cheeks with my curls. "Um, hi?" I greeted him and send him a tentative smile. He took a big step into the room, his whole composure the one of a predator, and slowly walked over to me. "Do you do that on a regular basis?" he asked in a slightly amused tone, but his eyes were still a shade darker than usual and wandered up and down my half-naked body. "Um, dance around the flat half-naked? No, only when I know that I am alone. I wasn't, um, expecting anyone." I blushed even deeper and took a step backwards, leaning the mop against the bookshelf. Louis started to follow me, but then slipped on the freshly mopped floor. 

Next thing I knew was that we were both lying on the floor, Louis underneath me with both of his hands firmly on my hips. After a moment of shock, his face split into a grin and he gently stroked the exposed skin right above my panties, making me shiver. "Lou, I have to clean..." I started off weakly, but he shut me up with his lips and suddenly cleaning our flat was at the very back off my mind. 

Half an hour later the flat wasn't any cleaner, but I was lying on the sofa with Louis who was now shirtless and listened to his steady heartbeat, while he gently run his fingers through my hair. One Direction was still playing in the background, making the situation feel like some bad fanfiction. When I shared my thoughts with Louis he smirked down at me and pecked my nose. "I hope this is a lot better than a bloody fanfiction, love." My cheeks blushed and I nodded, but felt the need to defend the other wonderful people I had met online. "Some of them are amazing stories, though, you can't criticise them all." I defended my fellow fans.

With a chuckle, he pulled me closer to him and rested his chin on the top of my head. "I'm sure there is some good artwork out there, but it will never be not weird for me to read stories about myself." I giggled and snuggled into him. "I think I should get dressed and finish cleaning for the party." I admitted with a pout and his grip around me tightened. "But what is the fun in that?" he whined into my ear. "Well if you want everyone to see me in my underwear and no alcohol or food tonight, be my guest." I commented dryly and he grudgingly released me and then finished cleaning for me while I got ready for the party. 

When I was admiring my appearance in front of the mirror, two strong arms sneaked around my waist. "Dresses like that shouldn't be allowed for beautiful girls like you." he commented, his voice suddenly an octave lower than usual. With a last brush, I finished off my makeup and threw a glance at my alarm clock. "Well we still have ten minutes until Niall and Lily should be back and the guests start arriving..." I informed him in a suggestive tone and turned around in his embrace. Louis smirked down at me and gently brushed a couple of loose strands out of my face. "I like the way you're thinking, love..." Let's just say that we had both never been less happy to see Lily and Niall.


	73. Hangovers Or How Harry Sends Gifs Of Himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, if you are confused about the start of the chapter you are not alone. I wrote this 3 1/2 years ago and therefore can't remember whether I actually wrote a party chapter at some point or whether I deliberately skipped it. Either way, the party at their flat already happened and this is the morning after. All the love, S. x

Slowly, very slowly, I started to regain consciousness. I was definitely in a bed, hopefully mine, and I wasn't alone. After a a few seconds had past, I finally managed to open my eyes and was relieved to find my soundly sleeping boyfriend lying next to me. It was still weird for me to think of him as my 'boyfriend' but it was time that I got used to it. Louis scrunched up his nose in his sleep and shuffled a bit, making his hair stick up even more. Chuckling, I reached out and carefully pushed a few strands out of his eyes which woke him up. He groaned and groggily opened his eyes. I gave him an innocent smile which he returned after his eyes had adjusted to the light which was streaming into my room from the window. The curtains were only half-way closed and the sun was casting its bright light onto my bed, making Louis blink a couple of times, before he beamed over at me.

"Morning, love." he leaned in for a kiss, but I pushed him away as a wave of alcohol hit me. He gave me a confused look and sat up in bed. "No good morning kiss?" he asked me and run a hand through his hair, making it even messier. "Not until we have both brushed our teeth." I smirked at him and a look of realisation appeared on his face. "That bad, eh?" I pulled a face and nodded. "I'm sure I don't smell much better, but at least it's not a combination of alcohol, cigarettes and weed." I grimaced and he laughed. "Well, what can I say? I am a man of many talents." I coughed discretely and he responded by raising an eyebrow at me. "Are you somehow doubting me?" He asked and I quickly slipped out of bed and stepped out of his reach. "I would never do that." I said in an innocent tone and batted my eyelashes at him. He hummed and threw the duvet back, revealing that he, too, was only wearing his underwear. 

"Any plans for today?" I shook my head, trying to keep my hormones together which we were telling me to jump him already. Apparently I wasn't as sober as was thinking. "Not really, no. We don't have any lectures anymore or seminars and I am way too hungover to work on my dissertation." With two big steps, I was in front of my closet and found a hoodie and a pair of leggings which I could wear. However, before I could get dressed, Louis was suddenly very close behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me close to his body. 

My breath hitched and I could feel his chest vibrate with silent laughter underneath me. He started trailing kisses down my neck and my body betrayed me and sent shivers down my spine. "Lou, I..." I started to protest, but then he kissed a spot right under my ear and my mouth was somehow unable to form a coherent sentence. It took me a couple of seconds until I had regained my full mental ability, but I somehow managed to step away from him. When he pouted I grabbed my clothes and dashed towards the bathroom. "Clean your teeth and we'll talk again." I winked at him, before I made a run for the bathroom, Louis hot on my heels. 

After Louis had left around lunch time, I helped Lily and Niall clean up the flat, while making fun of Niall's hickey. "Well, someone left a mark on you, bestie." I teased him and he winked at Lily before he sent me a sly smirk. Lily glared at me, but I knew she wasn't seriously upset. "Did you run into a bed post as well, Lily?" I asked her with an innocent smile and Niall cackled behind me, making Lily glare at both of us. "What can I say? I am a man of many talents." Niall commented proudly and I snorted, but continued to wipe our couch table. 

"Well, I have already heard that once today." I told them in a light tone and straightened my back, admiring the now shining surface of the table. "Did YOU run into a bed post by any chance?" Lily asked me and now it was my turn to blush. "A lady never kisses and tells." I informed them and gracefully walked out of the living room, to get a different mob from the kitchen. Even in the kitchen I could still hear their laughter and decided to take a bit longer to select a new wipe to clean the kitchen surfaces. 

The cleaning process took up most of the afternoon and Lily and I mutually agreed to not have a party again at our flat any time soon. I flopped down on the sofa and pulled out my phone to check my tumblr and twitter for some new entertainment. My phone binged and I saw that I had received two messages, one from Harry, and my heart missed a beat, one from Ed Sheeran. My inner fangirl was screaming with joy, while I tried to stay as normal as possible on the outside. 

I appeared to have made some sort of funny noise because the other two shot me curious looks. "Ed Sheeran texted me! Again!" I squeaked out in awe and Niall started laughing, while Lily send me a sympathetic look before mouthing "Oh my Gosh!" I nodded and then opened the text, my fingers trembling a little bit. It didn't matter that I had already been invited to his birthday party. It also didn't matter that we had already had a longer conversation in his kitchen or that I had seen him a couple of times. He was still my favourite artist and one of my biggest role models.

"Hi Claire, I hope you have recovered well from my party." I felt my cheeks heat up when I remembered hanging puking over his toilet. "I was wondering if you have had some time to think about my offer and wanted to invite you over to my place some time this week to work on something together if you like? Hope you are well, Ed xx" This time, I actually squealed and dropped my phone in surprise. "What's wrong?" Lily asked at the same time as Niall asked "What's going on?" Unable to reply, I simply fanned myself, before reaching for my phone. 

"He..." I gulped and beamed widely at them. "He invited me to write a song together. At HIS HOUSE!" Lily jumped up and literally bounced over to the sofa to pull me into a hug. "Holy shit! I am so happy for you!" We pulled apart and started giggling, while Niall was watching us from the other sofa with an amused look on his face. "Do I want to know how you reacted when Claire met us?" he asked with a smirk and Lily shook her head and walked back over to him. "I think you'll sleep better at night not knowing." She patted his hair and he pulled her down to kiss her. 

My whole body shaking, I hastily typed a reply telling him that I would love to come over to his house and suggested Friday. Then I opened Harry's text. "Friends date tonight? My place, I'll provide food, drinks and DVDs. H xxx" A wide smile appeared on my face and I told him that I'd be at his place at seven, adding a gif of him dancing weirdly at one of the OTRA shows. Niall and Lily were too engrossed with each other to wonder why I was giggling at my phone, but they did look up when I burst out laughing. 

He had sent me a gif back of him just seriously starring into the camera and I wasn't sure what I found funnier. The gif in this context or the fact that he had sent me a gif of himself. "Do you just have random gifs of yourself saved on your phone for every occasion? xx" I relied still giggling and only had to wait a couple of seconds until I received a reply, this time a gif of him pulling a weird face. I chuckled and send him a "See you later, weirdo xxx" before I showed our conversation to the other two who found it just as hilarious as I had had. 

An hour later, I hopped into the shower and left the two lovebirds alone in the living room. Not bothering with makeup, I simply put a on a pair of skinny jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt which had the words 'I woke up this way' written over my chest in scarlet red letters. Chuckling proudly at my own cleverness, I grabbed my purse and my phone and walked back into the living room to say goodbye. "Don't wait up for me, I don't know when I'll be home." I told Lily, before I gave Niall a shirt hug as well and rushed out of the flat to catch the bus on time.


	74. When Harry Met Sally Or Who's Lovin' You?

Harry opened the door wearing a green apron with white polka dots. As soon as I has laid eyes on him, I burst out laughing. He looked down at himself and did a little twirl, making me laugh even harder. "Well, hello to you, too." he greeted me with a grin and opened the door a bit further so that I could step into his house. "What are you wearing?" I asked him in between giggles and pulled him into a hug which he returned. "My mum gave it to me for my birthday. She told me I need one when I actually have to cook for myself now that we are on a break." he explained and hung my coat up for me while I slipped out of my shoes. "Well, please tell her that she has an excellent taste." I chuckled and he rolled his eyes and pulled me into the kitchen where he had several ingredients spread out on the kitchen table. 

"I thought we could make ourselves some pizza." Harry explained and gestured to the vegetables and the dough in the bowl. Beaming at him, I grabbed a tomato and started helping him cut the vegetable into smaller pieces, while we talked. "So, how was Lily's birthday?" he asked me and I dived into a longer story about the party which made him laugh a couple of times. "I am glad you had such a good time, I am sad that I couldn't make it." He looked genuinely upset and I reached over and patted his arm. "I'm sure there will be many more opportunities to join us at a party. Although we came to a mutual agreement to not have any more parties at our flat any time soon after we cleaned the whole place for two hours this afternoon." I pulled a face and he chuckled.

When we had cut all the vegetables into smaller pieces, Harry dusted the backing tray with lots of flour, before spreading the dough very equally on the tray. "You are doing a wonderful job." I said sarcastically, as the dough didn't do what Harry wanted it to do. He glared at me, but grimly kept pulling and pushing it until it looked sort of even. I chuckled and quickly turned it into a cough when Harry looked over at me. His frown turned into an evil grin and he threateningly walked around the table, his flour-covered hands reaching out for me. With a loud squeal, I jumped up and tried to run away from him, but didn't even make it to the bottom of the stairs, before Harry's strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist. My t-shirt was now covered and flour but that didn't seem to be enough because with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, he cupped my face and smeared flour all over my face. 

I froze and he doubled over with laughter. "Your... face..." he managed to say in between giggles. I placed both of my hands on my hips and started tapping my foot, waiting for him to stop laughing. After a minute or two he had finally calmed down and just smirked down at me. "Oh, you better prepare yourself, Styles. Revenge is best served cold." I smirked and then winked at him, before I made my way to his downstairs bathroom and started to wash the flour of my face. When I returned to the kitchen minutes later, Harry had already started to add the toppings to his half of our pizza.

I raised an eyebrow at him and smiled sweetly when he shot me a wary look. Humming Ed Sheeran's 'Don't' I happily spread the vegetables evenly over my pizza and then sprinkled an impressive amount of cheese on top. When we were both finished, Harry shoved the tray into the oven and set the alarm for fifteen minutes. Then he finally dared to look at me again and started laughing immediately. I self-consciously touched my face and my hair and tried to figure out what he was laughing at. "Um, you, um, you missed a bit of flour." I hastily wiped around my face, but Harry shook his head and walked over to me and gently wiped the leftover flour of my cheek, right next to the corner of my mouth. His thumb lingered on my cheek for a bit too long and his eyes wandered down to my lips, before he cleared his throat and quickly took a step back. "I'll, eh, I'll just go and wash my hands very quickly." With that he disappeared and left me alone in the kitchen with slightly flushed cheeks.

The pizza was delicious. I unconsciously let out a little moan because it tasted so good and Harry shifted a little bit around in his seat next to me on the sofa. "Gooood, this is one of the best pizzas I've ever had! You need to give me the recipe for the dough." He only nodded because he had a mouth full of pizza. "So what would you like to watch?" he asked me after he had swallowed and I shrugged. "Well, that depends on what you have to offer." I replied with a grin and he chuckled. "How about you look through my DVDs and I'll get us our second slices of pizza?" he suggested and I nodded and hopped off the sofa. His DVD collection seemed endless and mostly included old classics and surprisingly a lot of romcoms. 

With a chuckle, I picked out a film and when Harry returned from the kitchen I held up the cover. "Is there a hidden message behind you owning this movie?" I asked him with a smirk and he laughed and then shook his head. "Not really, no, it's just an excellent movie. Have you watched it before?" he asked me and my eyes widened. "Have I watched it before?! That's one of my favourite movies!" I turned around to face the TV and then stood there a bit lost. "Wait, let me put it into the right player, it's a bit complicated." Harry intervened and I happily handed him the DVD and got comfortable on the sofa again. 

An elderly couple appeared on screen and told the story of how they met. I looked up at Harry and saw that he was smiling down at me. "Thank you for watching this with me." I thanked him, but shook his head. "'When Harry Met Sally' is a true classic, you can't say no to that." I beamed up at him and then directed my attention back to the screen. "Do you think men and women can be just friends?" I asked him quietly as we watched Harry Burns talk about his dark side on the screen. "Well, I think we are a good example for that, aren't we?" He nudged me lightly and I chuckled and nodded. 

When the movie had ended, Harry put some music on in the background and sat back down on the sofa. "So, have you thought about Ed's offer yet?" he asked me casually and I laid down and pulled my legs closer to my body.Harry, however, patted his lab and made a welcoming gesture so I tentatively straightened my legs and placed my feet in his lap. "I did. I don't want to be out there, you know, especially with dating Louis. People would just say that I am using him to push my career as a songwriter and I don't want that. But I am considering working under a pseudonym, depending on how my writing session with Ed goes on Friday." I blushed and looked up at Harry who was looking at me with a proud look on his face. "I am so glad you decided to give it a chance, Claire. You are incredibly talented. It would be wrong to waste so much talent." I blushed and smiled at him. 

We were quiet for a few minutes, just enjoying each others company and listening to the music playing in the background. "Oh, I love that song!" I exclaimed happily when 'Who's Lovin You' by the Jackson 5 came on. I slightly swayed from one side to another in my seat, until Harry gently pushed my feet off his lab and got up. He straightened his back and then held out his hand to me. After a moment of hesitation, I took his hand and let him pull me up. He pulled me close and started to slowly sway us from side to side in the rhythm of the music. I laughed out loud, when he spun me around, but abruptly stopped when I collided with his chest. The music faded out into the background and we just looked down at each other, breathing heavily. 

The next song saved us from any awkwardness. 'Hound Dog' by Elvis Presley came on and I cheered and jumped up and down, until Harry took my hand and started spinning me around again. We danced in the most ridiculous ways throughout the whole song, before we both collapsed on his sofa. "That was fun." I said breathlessly and he nodded in agreement and grinned down at me. We looked at each other for a couple of seconds and then both burst out laughing. "Another movie?" Harry suggested and I nodded in agreement. "Your turn to choose." I protested when he gestured over to his DVD collection. With a deep sigh he pulled himself up and walked over to his TV. I couldn't see what he was doing, but a couple of seconds later a very familiar movie started playing on screen and my whole face lit up. "You have no idea how much I love you right now." I told him with a wide smile on my face and then got comfortable on the sofa again, as our favourite movie started to play on screen. 

After the second movie was over as well, Harry and I were lying together on the sofa, my legs resting on his. "Can I ask you a question?" I asked him quietly and felt him shift next to me. When I looked up, I saw his green eyes looking down at me. "Sure." He gave me an encouraging smile which did little to make me feel any less anxious about what I was about to ask. "Louis... gets jealous whenever I'm with you." I started off and he hummed as a sign that he was listening. I hesitated before I asked the next question. "Does he... does he have a reason to be jealous?" I asked him, unable to look him in the eyes.

There was a long silence before Harry spoke up again. "Claire?" he asked quietly, but I was too embarrassed to look up. "Claire, love, look at me. Please." The tone of his voice finally made me look up and I saw that he had a very pained impression on his face. "I have liked you since the moment I met you. You're this incredible woman who it's very difficult not to fall in love with." He chuckled and gently cupped my face with one hand. "But Louis is my best friend and I would never even think about making a move on his girlfriend. Maybe things would have been different if we had met first. God, I probably shouldn't have wasted as much time as Louis did and should have just asked you out on a date after you still talked to me when I messed up your hair." I smiled a bit at the memory of his exquisite branding skills. "You will always be one of the most important people in my life, but no matter how much I feel for you, I would never want to destroy what you and Louis have."

I gulped and looked up at this incredible man who just confessed his feelings for me, but who was to noble to make a move on his best mate's girlfriend. His expression was unreadable and for the first time since I had met him, the light in his eyes seemed to gone out. "You're way too good for this world, Harry, you have no idea how amazing you are." I smiled up at him, my heart pounding in my chest. "I... I don't know what to say right now. I never thought that someone seemingly perfect like you could like someone like me. I'm a mess, Harry. A broken mess." My voice broke at the end of the sentence and I opened my mouth to continue, but Harry gently placed a finger on my lips. "Shhhh, first of all: you're not a mess and you're not broken. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met and I have met a lot of people. And I am nowhere near perfect, not even close. I'm just me, just Harry, the boy from Cheshire who used to work in a bakery and somehow managed to live his dream." He chuckled dryly and I managed a weak smile. "Listen, you don't have to say anything right now. I don't expect you to break up with Louis for me; I never did. But you asked and you deserve to know the truth." I looked up at him with tears in my eyes, threatening to spill over. With a sigh, he pulled me into his chest and I felt him press a light kiss to my forehead. 

Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down, I sat up and carefully untangled myself from Harry's embrace. "I, um, I think I need some time to think." I told him quietly and the look on his face broke my heart. "You can't leave right now, it's 1am in the morning!" he protested, obviously concerned, but I ignored him and kept walking towards the front door where I quickly slipped into my coat and boots. "Claire, I understand that you want to leave now, but please don't walk around London in the middle of the night. There isn't even a bus going right now and who knows what's lurking in the dark." he tried to convince me to stay. "Harry, I appreciate your concern, I really do, but I can't stay the night, I am sorry." I buttoned up my coat and took another step towards the door. "At least let me pay for a taxi, I don't want you get hurt because of me." he begged me and after a couple of seconds I nodded. Letting out a sign of relief, he called his usual taxi company and they promised him to arrive within five minutes. 

He hung up on them and then looked over to me, unsure of whether or not he was allowed to hug me goodbye. I gave him a weak smile and opened my arms for him to which he responded with a wide smile. He pulled me into a tight hug and I could hear his steady heartbeat, which was entirely different to mine in that moment, my cheek pressed to his chest. "I am so sorry for throwing this at you, I never planned to tell you." he apologised again and I pulled away so that I could look him in the eyes. "Harry, there is no reason for you to apologise, okay? Absolutely none. I asked you a question and you gave me an honest answer and I am very grateful that you did. I just need some time to sort out my life right now, okay?" I reassured more me than him, but he seemed to buy it. He nodded and I leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his cheek, before stepping out of his arms and into the night.

When I turned around to look at him at the gate, I saw him standing in his doorway, watching me protectively until I was sat safely in the taxi. I waved a bit, before I closed the door and just barely managed to make out his face in the darkness, framed by a mess of tangled curls. He raised his hand and waved, but before I could react in anyway, the taxi had driven around a corner and Harry disappeared out of sight. Numbness overcame me and I just blindly stared at the headrest in front of me, while the taxi drove through the empty streets of London. 

"Are you okay, Miss?" I jumped a bit and looked up. The taxi driver was watching me through the rear mirror with a concerned look on his face. I brushed a lose strand out of my face and that was when I realised I was crying. "I, um, I'm fine, thank you." I assured him and he focused his attention back on the road, obviously not completely convinced. Embarrassed, I hastily wiped away my tears and leaned my head back against the head rest. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I needed to talk to someone. Suddenly, the choice was so obvious that I nearly cried again. I took out my phone and looked up when the first train or bus would be leaving for Norfolk tomorrow morning. I was going home.


	75. Decisions Or How I Met Sally

I arrived in Hunstanton shortly after ten o'clock. With no sleep, I was hoping that I looked better than I was feeling. After being at home for not even four hours, I had left with a light bag and a note for Lily in the kitchen, to take the tube to King's Cross where I had hopped onto the bus towards Hunstanton. My phone was left lying on my desk, turned off, as I didn't want anyone to contact me. I was hoping that Lily wouldn't tell anyone where I had disappeared to even if she figured it out and I hoped that Louis would still speak to me by the time I returned. My text had only informed him that I needed a time out and that I was safe and would be back in no time. Feeling incredibly guilty for disappearing without any warning, I had been hesitant to only send him a text, but for once in my life I was looking out for myself and I needed to sort out my feelings and my life.

I had already texted my mum who had assured me that I was welcome any time, before asking me concerned what was going on. When the bus pulled into the bus stop of my hometown, I could see her standing at the station, a deeply concerned look on her face. As soon as she had spotted me, her face lit up and she pulled me into a tight hug. Suddenly completely overwhelmed by my emotions, I burst into tears and she lightly swayed me from side to side, just letting me cry into her shoulder. "Shhh, you're gonna be fine, honey, everything is gonna be okay." She mumbled soothing words into my ear and rubbed her hand up and down my back, until I had calmed down a little bit. "I'm sorry for visiting out of the blue." I apologised and gratefully accepted the tissue she was handing me. "No need to apologise, Claire, you can show up whenever you want to, alright? Now, let's get you into the car and home where you can tell me what happened over a big cup of tea." I nodded and hiccuped, before she wrapped an arm around my waist and carefully guided me to her car.

Once we pulled into the driveway of my childhood home, I took a deep breath. "I know that it's not easy to be back here now that he is gone." my mum said from the passenger seat and I looked over to her. "It's not easy for me, either, but it still feels a little bit like he is still here with us in a way." She gave me a small smile which I returned, before we both climbed out of the car. Suddenly, loud barking could be heard from the house and I shot my mum a confused look. She, however, only gave me a secretive smile and unlocked the front door. As soon as the door opened, a honey-coloured bundle of fluff emerged from inside the house and the next thing I knew was that I was being jumped at by a little corgi puppy. I instantly dropped my bag and crouched down in front of the overly excited dog who immediately started to lick my face, his little tail excitedly wiggling from one side to another. 

Looking up, I saw that my mum was smiling down at the two of us. "Claire, meet Sally, Sally, meet Claire." A giggle escaped my mouth as the puppy started to inspect my hair and I carefully pulled it up into a ponytail, before standing up again. "Come on, let's get you two inside." she said with a warm smile and whistled once, making Sally dash back inside. I followed them into the house and closed the door behind me, immediately hit by the familiar smell of home. "How long have you had her?" I asked my mum, as Sally excitedly scurried around my feet, inspecting my shoes and my bag on the floor. "Granny gave her to me about three weeks after the funeral. She said I needed someone in the house and she was right. Sally was exactly what I needed to distract myself." 

She beckoned me into the kitchen and put the kettle on while I searched for two mugs in the cupboard. My fingers lingered on my dad's favourite mug, but then I pushed it aside and instead picked two similar looking ones with a nice polka dot pattern. I sat down at the kitchen table where my mum joined me minutes later, Sally getting comfortable at my feet. "So, what's going on?" she came straight to the point and I gulped and took a big sip from my tea, burning my tongue in the process. "I don't know what to do, mum. My life is a mess." I sighed and looked down at the puppy resting by my feet. "Is this about these two boys?" my mum asked and my head snapped up. "How did you know that?" I asked her surprised and she smiled at me and reached over the table to take my hand in hers. "Call it motherly intuition or whatever, but we mums have a special sense for things like that. Now, tell me, what happened? Did Louis do something? Did Harry finally man up and told you about his feelings?"

Stunned, I couldn't help myself from starring at her with a shocked expression on my face which made her chuckle. "How the heck did you figure that out?" I asked her dumbfounded and she laughed. "Honey, it was obvious that Harry was head over heels for you the first time I met him which is why Louis surprised me. Don't get me wrong, he is a nice lad and I am sure he is a great boyfriend, but your dad and I were a bit surprised when he introduced himself as your boyfriend." My brain seemed to have frozen in shock or something because when I opened my mouth, nothing came out so I closed it again and took another sip from my tea. "Claire, how are YOU feeling about all of this?" she asked me and gently stroked my hand with her thumb. 

I looked up from my tea, once again tears threatening to spill over. "I don't know mum, I really, really don't. Louis has been the most amazing boyfriend I could have ever asked for. He is funny, kind and caring and we just clicked and it's easy. I feel like he is someone I could be very happy with for a very long time if I only let myself. He recently accidentally confessed his love for me which left me in shock, but I couldn't say it back, mum, I just couldn't. It's not because I don't like him because I really, really do. I am just not IN love with him. Not yet anyway. And then..." I took a deep breath before I continued. "He has noticed that Harry and I are very close and according to a lot of people we seem to share a very special bond and he is constantly jealous of Harry which is why I just asked Harry last night." 

I sighed and looked out of the window. "What exactly did you asked him?" my mum asked gently and I looked back over to her. "I asked him whether Louis had a reason to be jealous." She gave my hand a light squeeze. "He said that he has liked me since the first time he met me and that he regrets not having asked me out on a date as soon as he could. But he also said that he would never go after a girl that his best friend is dating and that he doesn't want to destroy what me and Louis have." My mum gave me a sympathetic look. 

"Oh, wow, the boy has got it bad." she chuckled, but I didn't even manage a weak smile. "Mum, I don't know what to do!" I groaned and buried my face in my hands. There was a short silence and I heard my mum sigh. "Honey, look at me." Slowly, I let my hands sink down into my lap, where I started playing with the hem of my jumper. "Do you love Louis? Or, no, let me phrase that differently: are you in love with Louis?" I closed my eyes and thought for a couple of seconds, but deep down I already knew the truth. "I love him, but I don't think I am in love with him." I admitted quietly and opened my eyes again. "God, I'm such a bad girlfriend!" I groaned and my mum shook her head. "Claire you can't force any feelings. Mutual attraction is great and so is friendship, but if your heart isn't in it, I don't think it would be very fair to Louis to drag him along. However, if you think you only need time to open up to him and that you could fall in love with him, then the situation is a bit different." 

There was another short silence, before my mum asked the next question. "Do you have any feelings for Harry?" I looked up and saw that her blue eyes were watching me intensely. "I... I never allowed myself to think about him that way, mum. It just doesn't fit, you know? I am me and he is, well, you know, HIM." I made a vague gesture with my hand and my mum chuckled. " think I get what you're trying to say, go on." I grimaced and continued. "He is one of the most amazing human beings I have ever had the fortune to meet and as much as I hate to admit it, there always has been some kind of connection between the two of us, drunk or sober." My mum grinned and raised an eyebrow at me. "He just gets me, you know? He knows what I am trying to say before I do and he has been one of the best friends I have ever had, but I don't..." I stopped again and took a deep breath, receiving an encouraging smile from my mum. "I just don't see it work, mum." 

She looked at me for a couple of seconds without saying anything. "Look, honey, I obviously can't tell you what to do, but as your mum I want to give you one piece of advice: listen to your heart. For once in your life, do what's best for you, not for the fans, not for Louis or Harry or anyone else, just you. Because, in the end, this is your life and you are the one living it and if the only thing that is holding you back from being happy is the fact that you are scared of the media and scared of the fact that you could potentially be happier with someone who isn't your boyfriend, then you have to decide if it's time to blindly jump into the cold water for once in your life or whether you would rather stand at the edge of the cliffs and watch the ship disappear on the horizon. Just for once, live a little, Claire." 

After she had finished her little speech, she watched me carefully as I tried to sort out my thoughts. "So you're saying that I should break up with Louis in order to be with his best friend? Don't you think that's the most cruel thing you can do to someone you care about?" I asked her and she immediately shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. I was trying to say, that you should maybe take some time to yourself and figure out your feelings and your life. Talk to Louis, tell him that you care about him, but if you are even considering to be with Harry, it would be unfair to be with Louis, not just to him, but to Harry and and to you as well." I bit my lip and reached down to stroke Sally's head who gave me a happy look, her little tail wiggling happily. 

"I feel so bad, mum. Louis just told me that he is in love with me and now I considering breaking up with him not even two weeks later. I am such a bad person." I buried my face in my hands again and heard my mum's chair scratch over the floor before her warm, comforting hand began to stroke my back. "Honey, you are not a bad person. You're human and sometimes relationships don't work out the way you expect them to do, you know? Breaking up with Louis doesn't mean that you will never see him again. He will probably want some time to get over the break-up, but I am sure that your friendship won't be over." 

She pulled me into a tight hug and I rested my head on her shoulder. "Thank you for being such a great mum." She squeezed me a bit tighter and I could tell that my comment had touched her. "Thank you for trusting me enough to come to me for advice. You are the best daughter that any mother could ask for." Our moment was interrupted by Sally who let out a whimper, making us laugh. "And you are the best dog in the world." my mum assured her and bend down to patt her head. Feeling a little better now that I had at least talked the problem through with my mum, I started to help her prepare a quick lunch, before we both got dressed and made our way to the beach where we went for a long walk. When we returned, a familiar car stood in the drive way and I froze, immediately recognising the blue eyes starring at me from inside the car with a concerned look. "Louis." I managed to squeak quietly and then he opened the door, making my heart sink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. This was one of the most difficult chapters to write. I love Louis (as a real person and as the character I sort of created) and I feel incredibly bad for letting him down, but I promise you that I will write him a happy end, as well. As for Claire and Harrry, I guess, we need to wait and see what happens now...


	76. The End Or How I Will Never Listen To 'Love You Goodbye' Ever Again

When we returned, a familiar car stood in the drive way and I froze, immediately recognising the blue eyes starring at me from inside the car with a concerned look. "Louis." I managed to squeak quietly and then he opened the door, making my heart sink. 

....

Silently, I watched Louis climb out of his car and barely noticed the reassuring squeeze that my mum gave me before she disappeared into the house, after giving Louis a warm smile. Without saying anything, he closed his car door and then walked over to me. "Hey." he greeted me, his expression unreadable. I gulped and nervously pushed a loose strand out of my face which had been tickling my cheek. "Hi, Lou." I replied quietly, my voice hoarse and shaky. "Can we go for a walk?" he asked me and when I nodded, he walked lead the way towards the beach where he turned left and started walking along the shoreline. 

"How did you figure out where I was?" I asked him after walking next to him for a minute or two. He turned his head and his blue eyes looked down at me, making my stomach flip and unfortunately not in a good way. "Because I know you, Claire." There was a short silence before he spoke up again. "Harry called me." My head snapped up, my heart violently pounding in my chest. "He did?" I managed to squeak and he bit his lip and nodded. I lowered my gaze and let my eyes wander over the sand which seemed to stretch out forever underneath our feet. "Why did you run away like that, Claire? You could have just talked to me." I gulped and finally forced myself to look up at him. 

He stopped and reach out to intertwine our fingers. "Lou, I..." I started off, but my throat was closing up, making it unable to speak, so I closed my mouth again. "He told you that he's in love with you, didn't he?" Louis asked, bitterness and hurt evident in his tone, and I closed my eyes and nodded. When I opened them again, Louis' face was hard and his blue eyes seemed to be even more blue than usual. "Does that change anything for us, Claire?" I looked down at my feet, unable to hold his intense gaze any longer. "Claire? Look at me, love." He gently forced me to lift my chin up and my green eyes met his blue ones. "Does that change anything for us?" he repeated his question. I couldn't help myself anymore; I burst into tears and nodded.

After my nod, I expected a lot of things to happen, mostly Louis pushing me away and walking out of my life for good. What I didn't expect was that he immediately pulled me into a tight hug and just held me close to his chest. "Shhhh, Claire, calm down." I took a few shaky breaths and pulled away from him, just enough so that I could look him in the eyes. "I am so sorry, Lou. I am probably the worst girlfriend in the world. You have been nothing but kind and loving and supportive and just in general so much more than I ever deserve. And here I am, breaking up with you because I am not sure if I have feelings for your best friend." Tears were streaming down my face and even Louis had tears in his eyes. "I really do love you, Louis, but I am just not in love with you. You are this amazing person who deserves so much more than someone like me. I am so sorry, Lou, I am so sorry." I broke down again and he pulled me back against his chest, gently swaying us from one side to another.

"Shhh, Claire, it's okay. It's okay." he tried to soothe me, but that only made me feel even worse. Here I was breaking up with him and he was the one trying to make me feel better. "No, it's not okay!" I wailed and furiously glared up at him. "How the fuck are you so perfect? I am BREAKING UP WITH YOU, for fuck's sake and here you are making ME feel better!" I hiccuped and he chuckled a bit and gently wiped my cheeks with his sleeve. Then he carefully cupped my face with his hands and forced me to look him in the eyes. "Claire, hey, listen, love. Please stop feeling so guilty. Does this hurt? Yes, I feel like someone just reached down my throat and pulled my heart out, but Claire, hey, listen to me!" I let out a shaky breath and tried to ignore the massive amount of guilt which was making me struggle to breathe. 

"I hate to admit this, but you and Harry have shared a special connection from the start. I never wanted to see it because you are one of the most amazing people I have ever met and the second girl I have ever loved, but it was there right from the start. You guys just clicked, but I was too selfish to let you go without a fight. And Harry being Harry, would of course never do anything to sabotage our relationship so I knew that if I would be just quick enough I would have you all to myself." He gave me a weak smile and his thumb gently caressed my tear-stained cheek. "I was selfish and stupid and now I am paying the price. Being able to call you mine was one of the best things that has ever happened to me, Claire. And even though our relationship wasn't meant to last, I still would do it all over again if I had the chance even if it means getting my heart broken on a beach by you all over again." 

He looked down at me and for the first time ever he let me see him cry. My heart felt like someone was crushing it underneath their feet and all I wanted was to make him feel better, but I couldn't and that was the part that hurt the most. "You are not selfish, Lou." I told him quietly, but he shook his head. "Yes, yes, I am. But selfishness, for once in my life, made me the luckiest man in the world, even if it was just for a couple of weeks." He smiled down at me. It was a sad smile, but it gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, he could be happy again one day with someone else. "Lou, I won't allow you take the full responsibility for this. This is just as much my fault, as it is yours, if not even more my fault than yours. I was attracted to you from the start and I still am and you turned out to not only be insanely attractive, but also this great, funny and loving guy. I have no idea how I even deserved someone so amazing like you in my life and I probably will never understand it." He opened his mouth to say something, but I gently placed a finger over his lips. 

"Harry was an amazing friend to me right from the start but I never allowed myself to feel anything else for him because I was with you and I was happy with you. Even when people kept bringing up how much we acted like a couple, I still tried to push anything I felt for him that wasn't friendship aside. I never wanted this to happen, Lou. I still don't know how I feel about Harry, but I do know that it would be unfair to us, unfair to you, to be in a relationship with you if I am even considering the fact that Harry and I could work out in some way. I am so sorry, Louis." I whispered and gently placed a hand over his hand which was resting on my cheek. "I am sorry, too." he whispered back. 

We stared at each other for a moment, before I leaned in and our lips met for a final kiss. The kiss was very sweet and one of the best we had shared up to this point, full of all the things we hadn't said. When we pulled away, we were both crying. "I think I'm gonna go now." Louis said hoarsely and I nodded and slowly let my hands sink, as he took a step back. "I will miss you, Claire." I gave him a weak smile. "I will miss you, too, Lou." Wiping my cheeks with my sleeve, I nearly missed what he said next. "I think I need some time to myself, but I would love it if we could stay friends somehow. I don't want to lose you over this, Claire." He sounded just as heartbroken as I felt. "I don't want to lose you, either, Lou." I assured him and he gave me a sad smile and raised his hand, before he turned around and started walking back towards the house, leaving me alone at the beach with only the waves and my thoughts to keep my company.


	77. The Promise Or Ice Cream And Movies

When I returned to my mum's house, Louis' car was gone, making my heart heavy. When I reached the front door, I realised that I didn't have a key to get because I had left the house with my mum earlier. Hesitantly, I raised my hand to ring the door bell. Sally began to bark excitedly and a couple of seconds later I could see her small shadow jumping up and down behind the door. My mum sent me a sympathetic smile and shot me a questioning look after she had let me in. When I nodded, she put the plate she had been drying down and pulled me into a tight hug. "I am so proud of you, honey. I know it was hard for both of you, but it was the right thing to do." I hugged her back and just enjoyed the feeling to be held."But why does it feel so wrong?" I asked quietly into her shoulder and she gave me a tight squeeze in reply.

I spent the rest of the day sitting in the living room with my mum, letting her pamper me before I decided that I should return to London, my dissertation lurking gloomily at the back of my mind. With a big care packet, my mum reluctantly let me leave but made me promise her to call me every couple of days and to always come back when I needed her. On the bus to London, I put on my headphones, but couldn't bring myself to listen to One Direction, which was usually my go to music for when I was upset, so I decided to listen to James Bay for a bit. 

I must have fallen asleep because next thing I knew was that we had arrived in London. The Tube was packed and I found myself longing for my bed more and more, alone and away from the slightly drunk people who were pressing up against we. I basically fled the Tube and nearly run home, quietly slipping into the flat. The light in the living room was on and I hesitantly poked my head through the door. Lily looked up from her book and immediately put it down and pulled me into a hug when she saw my face. "Hey, what's wrong? What happened?" Tears were threatening to spill over again and I just helplessly shrugged and let her pull me down onto the sofa. 

After taking a few deep breaths to calm me down, I looked up from my hands and saw that she was watching me with a serious expression on her face. "I broke up with Louis." I admitted to her, my voice breaking at the end of sentence. I was slightly taken aback when she didn't even look surprised. "I feel like the worst person ever!" I groaned and slumped back into the sofa. "Don't give me any of this self-loathing shit, Claire. It's not just your fault that your relationship didn't work out the way you two wanted it to." she tried to make me feel better, but I shook my head. 

"It was awful. We both cried and he said that he had acted selfish and that it was just as much his fault as it was mine which didn't really make me feel any better though. We promised each other to stay friends, but of course we first both need some time to ourselves, before we even start thinking about that again." I told her and she nodded. "Ice cream and a good romcom?" she asked me with a grin and I gave her a grateful smile and nodded. "That would be perfect, thank you." 

While she went into the kitchen to get the ice cream from the freezer, I thought about how incredibly grateful I was to have her as a best friend. I was also particularly grateful that she hadn't mentioned Harry with one word and I wasn't planning on bringing him up either. When she returned from the kitchen, she put 'The Holiday' into the TV and we both settled down on the sofa, letting the ice cream wander between the two of us, while swooning over Jude Law. In the end, I went to bed with a smile, a sad one, but it was a smile and I felt a little bit less like the worst person on earth.

The next two days, I threw myself into work and hardly did anything else. The days were spent in front of my computer, either in the kitchen or at my desk, and my entire being was craving a break. On Friday morning, I excitedly hopped out of bed, very much aware of the fact that I was hanging out with Ed today. After a long shower to relax my sore muscles, I slipped into my clothes and then started packing a small bag with my notebooks and some snacks and then grabbed my guitar which I had gotten from my dad all those years ago. Lily was out of the house and I left her a note on the kitchen table, before I threw a glance at the kitchen clock that told me I was already late, so I rushed to the front door.

On the bus to Ed's house, I impatiently tapped my fingers on my leg, desperately trying not to freak out. My inner fangirl was screaming with excitement, as I walked up the path to Ed's house. Being back here at his house hurt in some ways because the last time I had walked up here I had held Louis' hand which felt cold and empty now. I had also puked my guts out in Ed's bathroom, but that was an experience I wanted to forget as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that didn't mean that the rest of the world was ready to let it go so quickly. 

"Hey, love." Ed opened the door seconds after I had rang the door bell and pulled me into a hug which I returned. "Hi, Ed." I smiled, suddenly a bit shy, and hesitantly stepped into his house. "Come on in. As long as you don't puke anywhere, we'll be fine." he attempted a joke and I sent him a playful glare, but couldn't help myself from letting a smile creep upon my face. "How have you been?" Ed asked me and carefully took my guitar out of my hands. "Okay, I guess. Uni is keeping me busy." He raised an eyebrow at me. "I heard that you broke up with Louis?" he asked me and I felt my face fall. "Yes, that, too. I am feeling like shit because of it. Has he told you about us?" I asked him while I took off my shoes and neatly placed him next to Ed's shoes. "No, it was actually Harry who told me." 

Ed's reply made look up at him. "Harry knows?" My voice was at least an octave higher than usual and I cleared my throat. "He mentioned on the phone yesterday. Apparently, Louis told him." Ed explained carefully and I gulped and then looked down at my hands. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern laced in his voice and I looked up again and nodded. "Peachy. Let's go and write some songs." I suggested in an enthusiastic tone which made him laugh. "The music room is the first one to your right." My bag in my shaking hand, I slowly walked down the corridor, admiring the photos on the walls, before I stopped in front of a white door. Ed seemed to have disappeared into the kitchen with my guitar, so I hesitantly turned the door knob.

I involuntarily took a sharp breath when I stepped into the room. At least seven different guitars were spread across the room, hanging on the walls and lying on the floor and the big sofa which was situated in the middle of the room. A grande piano stood in front of a large recording booth section and a cello lay was peaking out behind the sofa. My favourite bit about the room, however, was the large table in front of the sofa which was littered with loose pieces of papers, hundreds, maybe thousands of lines of lyrics right in front of me. Still in awe, I stepped further into the room and let my eyes wander over the beautiful instruments. 

The sound of footsteps made me snap out of my state of pure awe and I looked up to see Ed enter the room with my guitar in one hand, and two bottles of water in the other one. "Oh, make yourself comfortable." After gently placing my guitar on the floor, he quickly walked over to the sofa and pushed some loose paper aside to that there was enough space for the two of us to sit down. When he started to get some organisation into the chaos on his table, I stopped him. "Oh, please don't tidy up on my account. I love it in here." I gave him a wide smile and he chuckled and sat back down after placing the bottles on the table. 

Still a little bit shy, I sat down next to him and took my guitar out of my case. "Wow, that's a beauty." he complimented my guitar and I smiled proudly. Ed's skilled eyes wandered over my guitar and I blushed a bit and gently strummed down the strings. "Thank you, my dad gave it to me when I was ten." We quickly tuned our guitars in sync, before Ed shot me an inviting look. "Okay, what kind of songs do you usually write and how do you write them?" he asked me curiously and I reached down to my bag and took out my notebook which contained all of my songs. 

"Well, I usually have some sort of melody in my head, but for me it's all about the lyrics, really. I love writing in general and if I write lyrics with a fitting melody that's great, but it's not why I write." I tried to explained and flicked through the pages. "Can you maybe play me one of your songs? Perhaps something you have written more recently so that I can get a feel for your style?" Ed asked me and I felt my cheeks heating up. "I have actually never played anything for anyone." I admitted quietly, and looked through my note book for a good song to play. "Please?" Ed asked me and in that moment I decided to trust him. "Okay, um, I will play you a song that no one has even seen before. I wrote this after my dad passed away in January, and, um, yeah..." I shot him an awkward glance, before taking a deep breath. I closed my eyes and imagined my dad being here who I had written this song for and began to sing. My voice was a bit shaky during the first verse, but it grew stronger throughout the song.

"Now you're gone, Now you're far, far away, But I stand here crying, knowing, You promised you'd never leave me! And you keep your promises, You keep your promises, You keep your promises, Yeah, you keep your promises." I finished off the song with one last strum and after a couple of seconds I was finally mustered up the courage to look up at Ed again, only to see that he was very moved. "Wow, now I know what Harry meant." My head probably resembled a tomato by now and I looked back down at my lab. "That is a beautiful song, Claire. Thank you for sharing it with me." Ed thanked me quietly and gave my shoulder a light squeeze. "Thank you. That means a lot, especially coming from you." I smiled at him and then looked back down at my notebook again. "Well, I was aiming for something a bit more, well, happier." I chuckled and closed my notebook. Ed laughed and then pulled a blank piece of paper and a pen towards us. "I agree with you on that one, now, let's see what we can come up with."


	78. Surprise Visits Or A Shoulder To Cry On

I successfully managed to avoid One Direction for the next two weeks, which was a lot harder than it sounds when all four of them have your phone number and know where you live. The only one who hadn't been at my flat yet was Liam, but even he messaged me after I had successfully ignored everyone's texts to check up on me. I knew why Louis hadn't turned up at my house and Lily had told me that Niall was in Ireland for a couple of days, but it was weird that Harry hadn't turned up yet. My question was answered on a Friday night, two weeks after I had written my first song with Ed, when our door bell rang at half past eleven in the evening. 

Lily was out with some friends from work, so I got up from my place in front of my desk where I was putting the finishing touches to my dissertation. It had to be handed in by next Wednesday to my tutor who would go through it with me on Friday. When I opened the door, Harry stood in front of me. He was carrying two large bags and his face was pale, his hair pulled back into a messy bun. His green eyes seemed even greener than usual, maybe enhanced by the dark shadows underneath them. "Hey." I greeted him quietly, slightly surprised by his sudden appearance, and he dropped his bags and pulled me into a tight hug. "Hey, Harry, what's wrong?" I immediately, pulled him over the threshold and closed the door behind him. 

His strong arms were still tightly wrapped around me and I suddenly realised that he was crying. "Shhh, you're okay. I am here." Pulling him even closer, I just held him for a minute or so, while he cried into my shoulder. My hands were gently stroking his back and I felt him shift slightly in my tight embrace before he pulled back a bit. "Shit, I am sorry, Claire. I didn't mean to barge in here like that and then cry." He wiped his red eyes with his sleeve and send me a weak smile. Standing up on my tiptoes, I gently cupped his face with my hands. "I am always here for you, just like you are always here for me, alright?" I told him seriously and he nodded. "Want to talk about it?" I asked him quietly and let go of him, but he shook his head. "Tea?" I offered instead and when he nodded, I gently took his hand and guided him into our kitchen where he sat down on a chair from where he watched me prepare two cups of tea. 

"How are you doing? I heard you and Ed wrote a song?" he croaked out and I looked up from the kettle. "I'm fine. My dissertation is driving me nuts, but what can I do?" I pulled a face and he managed a weak chuckled. "And the song is fantastic, all thanks to him, of course, but that wow, what a great song writer!" I gushed and covered my cheeks with my hair when I felt them heat up with embarrassment again. "I am sure it is a fantastic song and not just because of Ed." Harry commented from the kitchen table and I smiled at him. He gave me a grateful smile when I handed him his mug and then followed me to the sofa in the living room. "I'll play it to you some time, if you'd like to." I offered shyly and he smiled at me, before I saw his eyes tearing up again. 

Without saying a word, I simply slid closer to him and he instantly pulled me close to him, wordlessly resting his chin on my head, while I leaned against his chest. After a couple of seconds, he started to speak. "I, uh, I just spent ten days in L.A.. The film that I auditioned for, Dunkirk, wants me and they invited the whole cast to L.A. for first talks. Filming will start in a couple of weeks. Oh, and I will finally have to cut my hair." I couldn't see his face, but I could hear how proud he was in his voice. "Wow, that is so amazing, Harry. You should be very, very proud of yourself." I congratulated him quietly. "And I am sure you'll look just as handsome with short hair, as you do now." Realising what I had just said, I immediately wanted to slap myself, but he either hadn't really heard what I had said or chose to ignore it. "Thanks, love." he thanked me quietly and I felt him press a light kiss to my hair.

There was a short silence and Harry absentmindedly started playing with my fingers, before he spoke up again. "I was supposed to stay there for another four days, but I received a call from my mum this morning." His voice was shaky and I lightly squeezed his hand, as I felt him take a deep breath. "My granddad passed away last night. The funeral is tomorrow. I hadn't seen him since Christmas and I didn't even get to say goodbye." His voice broke and I felt my heart break in my chest, hurting for the man who was now crying next to me. "Harry, I am so, so sorry. I know that sorry doesn't bring him back, but I really am. Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked him and he looked up, tears running down his cheeks, and shook his head. "I just didn't know where to go." he whispered hoarsely and I turned around on the sofa and climbed onto his lab and wrapped my arms around him, letting him cry into my shoulder again.

Nothing was said for the next couple of minutes, but I felt him shaking underneath me, while he held onto me as if his life was depending on it. After a couple of seconds, he pulled away and took a shaky breath. "Shit, I am so sorry for bothering you with this. That's probably the last thing you need right now." Shaking my head, I hesitantly raised my hand and brushed a few curls out of his face which were sticking to his wet cheeks. "You really need to pay more attention when people tell you about friendship." I told him with a light smile. "Friends take care of their friends when they need someone and that definitely includes a shoulder to cry on." I assured him and he managed to return my smile. "Can I stay here tonight?" he asked, almost timidly and I nodded. "Thank you, Claire. I really didn't want to go to my empty house tonight. I'll leave tomorrow morning straight after breakfast for the funeral." 

I carefully climbed off his lap and then offered him a hand to pull him up which he immediately took. "How about you take a shower after the long flight?" I suggested and he nodded gratefully. "That would amazing, thank you." He followed me into the hallway where we stopped in front of the mirror where his bags were. After taking some clothes out, he disappeared into the bathroom, while I returned to my room where I quickly put some clothes into my laundry bag and organised my desk while Harry was still in the shower. 

A light knock on my door make me jump and look up from my book a couple of minutes later. Harry was standing in my doorway, only wearing a par of pyjama pants with his wet hair pulled back. Forcing myself to keep my eyes on his face, I patted the spot next to me on the bed. "Um, would you, would you like to sleep here tonight? I mean, I don't, um... I just thought you maybe wouldn't want to be alone tonight." I stuttered and hid my cheek in embarrassment. "If you don't mind..." Harry's voice was still a bit shaky and when I looked up from my hands, I realised that he was just as shy about this whole situation as I was. Something had changed between the two of us when he had told me about his feelings for me and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. With an inviting gesture towards my bed, I stood up and grabbed a pair of pyjamas, before disappearing into the bathroom. 

When I returned, Harry was already lying underneath the sheets with my book in my hands. He looked up when I entered the room and put the book down, before lifting up the duvet so that I could slip underneath it as well. "Thanks." I mumbled and shot him a small smile which he returned. His eyes were still a bit red, but his whole posture was a lot more relaxed than before the shower and his slightly wet curls were bouncing freely around his face. I turned off the light and felt him shift next to me. When my eyes had gotten used to the dark, I could see that he was lying on his back with his head turned in my direction, watching me intently.

"Will you miss your long hair?" I asked him quietly and heard him chuckle in the dark. "For sure, I have gotten so used to it over the past few years. But it will be fun to try something new. I have gotten an offer from Another Man's Magazine to do a photo shoot before and after the hair cut with an interview and everything and I am thinking of taking them up on their offer." he told me in a quiet voice and I smiled in the darkness. "That sounds amazing, you should totally do that." A hand sneaked into mine and gave it a light squeeze. "Thank you for being here for me." 

I returned the squeeze and felt his thumb lightly stroke the back of my hand. "You're welcome." There was a short silence, then I offered him something which I was sure he would never ask himself. "Would you like me to accompany you to the funeral tomorrow?" I asked him quietly and felt him move next to me. He had turned onto his side and run his free hand through his hair. "I... I wouldn't ask that much of you. Not after you just had your dad's funeral in January." His words said no, but his voice gave him away. "It's not a problem, Harry, really." I tried to assure him. He was silent for a couple of seconds, but then gave in. "Thank you." he thanked me again and I turned onto my side as well so that we were now facing each other. "Like I said, no problem." We smiled at each other in the darkness, before he couldn't hide a yawn anymore. 

"We should probably try to sleep now. When do we have to get up tomorrow?" I asked him and reached behind me to set my alarm clock. "We should leave around eight." Harry sighed and I set the alarm before turning back around to face him. "Good night, Harry." He gave my hand a light squeeze, before letting go. "Good night, Claire." I turned around and hesitantly moved a bit closer to him. Taking the hint, I felt him shift a little bit behind me, before a strong arm wrapped itself around my waist and Harry pulled me into his chest. "Thank you." were the last words I heard him whisper into my ear, before I drifted off into sleep.


	79. Sleepy Smiles Or How A Hand Squeeze Says More Than A Thousand Words

The next morning I woke up with a strong pair of arms wrapped tightly around me. It took me a couple of seconds to realise that my pillow was breathing and when I opened my eyes, a swallow was looking back at me. I blinked a couple of times and tried to make sense of my surroundings, until it suddenly hit me and all the memories from last night came rushing back to me. Carefully, I tried to move a bit without waking up the sleeping man underneath me, but as I tried to roll off him, his grip momentarily tightened around me and when I looked up, a pair of green eyes were looking down at me. "Morning, love." Harry greeted me, his voice hoarse and very deep and gave me a sleepy smile. "Morning." I smiled back and then tried to move again. "Oh, sorry." he apologised immediately, a hint of red on his cheeks, and let go off me.

My eyes wandered to my alarm clock which told me that we have to get up in ten minutes anyway, so there was no use going back to sleep. "What time is it?" Harry's voice came from behind me. I turned around and held up the alarm clock making him groan and pull the blanket over his head. "And here I was thinking that I was the only one having problems getting out of bed." I chuckled. "His head poked out of the blankets again, his hair spread around his head on the pillow like some sort of halo, making me grin down at him. "It kind of depends what kind of plans I have for the day." he explained to me rather seriously. I giggled and stifled a yawn, which made Harry yawn as well.

With a sigh, I rolled out of bed and walked over to my closet. I hesitated for a second, before I took out the black dress. The last time I had worn it had been the day of my dad's funeral and just touching the fabric brought back a lot of memories. Without me noticing it, Harry had gotten out of bed as well, and was suddenly standing behind me. A big hand placed itself on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly from behind me and I nodded, before turning around. He was standing very close in front of me, too close. I could see every little detail, every freckle and little imperfection which made him so unique. My eyes lingered on his pink lips for a moment, before my green eyes met his.

I cleared my throat and took a step back, my cheeks flushed. My hands were suddenly incredibly fascinating and after a moment I quickly made my way to my chest of drawers for some underwear and a pair of tights. "Would you mind if I just got dressed really quickly?" I asked him and turned around again to face him. "No, no, absolutely not, it's fine. I'll make us some breakfast in the mean time." His gaze wandered across the room on the search for his hoodie and when I spotted it next to the bed, I quickly picked it up and threw it in his direction. He caught it with ease and after another small smile in his direction, I disappeared into the bathroom. 

Slipping back into the black dress brought back all the memories I had been trying to forget so it took me a very long time to get ready. After a couple of minutes, there was a cautious knock on the door. "Are you alright, love?" Harry sounded concerned, so after one last look into the mirror, I walked over to the door and opened it for him. "Hi, I'm sorry for knocking, but you were in here for a while and I wanted to make sure you were okay with, well, you know. It's only been a couple of weeks." He nervously run a hand through his messy curls and I gave him a reassuring smile. "It's fine, Harry, don't worry about it. Thank you for checking up on me." Visibly relieved, he returned the smile and then guided me towards the kitchen where he had prepared some tea and toast for us. "This looks great, thank you." I gratefully took the steaming mug and sat down for a quick breakfast.

While Harry took a shower and got dressed, I did our dishes and then wrote a short letter to Lily, telling her where I had run off to, as she probably wouldn't be awake by the time we left. When Harry emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later, he was wearing an elegant black suit which suddenly made him look a lot older and a lot more serious than the weird flowery patterns and sparkly boots that I was used to. "Ready to go?" I asked him after a quick glance at the kitchen clock and looked over to him. He visibly gulped and loosened his black tie a little bit, before he nodded. Stepping in front of him, I gently took one his hands in mine and gave it a light squeeze. "I'll be right at your side the whole time, okay?" He managed a sad smile, before letting go of my hand to pack the rest of his belongings back into his bags, before we both made our way downstairs to his car.

The car ride was very quiet. Today, there wasn't any music playing in the background and the only words spoken were when he occasionally asked me to check the traffic on his phone. When we drove past the sign saying 'Welcome to Holmes Chapel', I reached over and lightly squeezed his hand which was resting on his thigh. He shot me a grateful look and then focused his concentration back onto the road, not without giving my hand a light squeeze back before he had to change gear. As we didn't have enough time to stop by his mum's house, we drove straight to the chapel next to the cemetery where a large group of people, all dressed in black, were standing together in small groups under the light drizzle. 

Harry parked the car and turned the engine off. He took a deep breath and looked over to me, his eyes searching for something in mine, before he gave me a weak smile and opened the car door. Before I could open my own, Harry had already walked around the car and helped me out. He didn't let go off my hand when we made our way over to his mum and I felt him lightly shake next to me and I was sure that the mild drizzle was responsible for that. Gemma spotted us first and her whole face light up when she saw her little brother approaching her. "Harry!" she called out and run towards him. 

He instantly let go of my hand and wrapped both of his arms around her, holding her close his chest. They hugged for a couple of seconds, before she pulled back and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I am so glad you could make it." she told him quietly before her eyes fell on me who was awkwardly standing next to them. "Claire, it's good to see you again." She let go of Harry and pulled me into a hug as well, which I happily returned. "It's good to see you, too, Gemma. Although I wish it would be for another occasion." I gave her hand a light squeeze and she smiled at me, before she looked back up to her brother. "Come on, mum will want to see you. She's missed you like crazy." She tugged at his arm and after a reassuring glance in my direction, Harry followed her with me trailing behind them.

Harry didn't let go off my hand once during the whole funeral. We were squished between his mum and Gemma who was sitting on my left side. Anne had insisted that I had to sit at the front row with the close family and the look on Harry's face made me hold back any kind of objections I might have had. When the service was over, the whole group silently followed the casket outside. Harry's hand was shaking in mine and I gently rubbed circles on the back of his hand with my thumb, just to signal him that he wasn't alone. I looked up at him and saw that silent tears were running down his cheeks, but he didn't seem to notice them. When it was his turn to step forward and say his last goodbyes, I slightly loosened my grip on his hand, but he only held onto mine even tighter than before, so I stepped forward as well and just provided silent comfort. 

When we were back in the car, he finally let go off my hand and looked over to me. "Thank you for being here with me." he thanked me quietly and I gave him a small smile, before putting on my seat belt. "Don't mention it, H." I assured him and he gave me a weak smile in return. We drove to his mum's house in silence where a small group would have some lunch together after the funeral. When he had parked the car in the driveway, we both took our bags and then walked over to the house. Suddenly very nervous, I took a shaky breath which caught Harry's attention. "No need to be nervous, love. They'll love you. And you already know my mum, Gemma and Robin, so you'll be fine." Not entirely convinced, I halfheartedly returned the smile, before the door swung open.

"Come on in, come on in." Anne waved us inside. A hand was placed on my lower back and gently pushed me over the door step and when I looked up, I saw Harry smiling down at me. "Why don't you put your things in Harry's old room and then come downstairs into the living room? Are you two hungry? We have loads of food and I don't think the old people will eat that much." she added with a grin and Harry blushed slightly, while I giggled. "Mum!" She gave him an innocent smile and then winked at me. "You young people are always hungry, aren't you? Why don't you drop the bag upstairs and I take Claire into the kitchen for some food." she said to Harry who groaned a bit, but then obediently picked up the bags and trotted upstairs, while Anne guided me into the kitchen.

"Wow, that really is a lot of food." I said and looked around the kitchen. "You have a beautiful home, Anne." I complimented her and she gave me a warm smile, which made me realise just how much her son looked like her. "Thank you, my dear. Are you doing alright?" I nodded and gave her a small smile. "I'm fine, thank you. I should be the one asking that question." I attempted a joke and she laughed and took a bowl with salad out of the fridge. "I am glad Harry has such a good friend at his side." she commented, while she looked through a couple of drawers before she held up a pair of salad servers with a triumphant smile. My cheeks involuntarily heated up at her emphasis on the word 'friend' and I avoided her intense gaze and looked out of the window. "Well, he was there for me when I was, um, after my dad passed away and he turned up out of the blue last night and broke down in my hallway and I guess I just wanted to return the favour, or, um, give something back, if that makes sense?" I shot her an embarrassed smile, but she seemed to understand what I was trying to say.

"That's very kind of you, Claire." I shrugged and tried to hide my flushed cheeks under my hair. "That's what friends do, right?" I asked her and she gave me a knowing smile and nodded. "Hmm. So, tell me, Claire? How are things with Louis?" she asked me in an attempt to make conversation and I cleared my throat, the smile wiped off my face in a matter of seconds. "Oh, um, we... we just broke up two weeks ago." I admitted quietly and looked down at my hands. "Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't know about that." Anne apologised immediately and I looked up. "Please don't apologise, how were you supposed to know about that?" I asked her and gave her a reassuring smile. She opened her mouth to say something, but in that moment Harry strolled into the room and she immediately closed her mouth again, suddenly very busy with the food. 

"Did you miss me while I was gone?" Harry joked and put his arm around my shoulder. I felt Anne's eyes on us and automatically took a step back, making Harry pout. "No, your mum is too lovely to even think about you." I joked and winked at Anne who chuckled. "You're a cruel woman, Claire." Harry told me with a sad smile and dramatically placed his hand over his heart making us chuckled at his dramatic behaviour. "Drama queen." I coughed with a smirk and he shot me a glare, before walking around the kitchen aisle to get himself a plate. Anne watched our banter with an amused look on her face, before she excused herself, leaving the two of us alone in the kitchen.

There was a short silence while we both loaded our plates with the delicious food that Anne had prepared. "How are you feeling?" I asked quietly, as I leaned past him to reach the plate with the tomatoes. "Like shit, but I'm sure it'll get easier over time." he replied honestly and I felt his breath on my neck as he leaned forward to take a tomato, as well. "Oi, that was mine!" I defended a particular big one which was beautifully covered in olive oil and a slice of mozzarella. Both of our hands were touching the tomato and both of us refused to let go and let the other one win. 

"You know you can't win against me, love." Harry said huskily into my ear and placed a hand on my hip. My breath hitched and I could basically feel him smirk next to me. What he didn't know was that two could play this game. Smirking to myself, I shifted my weight just a tiny bit and accidentally brushed my bum against his crotch which made him take in a sharp breath. "Oh, so we're playing that game?" he asked into my ear and I hummed in response, not wanting to give away too much. "My grip can be really tight, love." he said lowly after a moment and suddenly I wasn't so sure if we were still talking about the tomato. "Don't start something you can't finish, Styles." I warned him and slightly leaned back into him, my fingers still touching the tomato. "Oh, that won't be a problem, love." he assured me and gently grazed my hip with his thumb. "Harry, I..." I began, but I was interrupted by Gemma who cleared her throat. 

Our heads snapped up and I instantly let go of the tomato, my cheeks flushed. Harry's warm hand left my hip and I took a step back. "I am sorry to disturb, but mum sent me to see what is taking you so long in the kitchen." Gemma apologised with a smirk on her face. "We, eh, we were fighting over a tomato." I explained with a red face and tried to avoid eye contact with Harry at any cost. "Well, that's an expression that I haven't heard before." Gemma commented with a wink and shot us a grin, before returning to the living room. Harry and I quickly helped ourselves to the rest of the food, before joining the others in the living room. Before we entered, however, Harry placed his hand on my lower back and leaned in to whisper something in my ear. "Like I said, love, I always win." With a wide grin, he opened the living room door for me and I followed him into the room, silently praying that no one would see my flushed cheeks. 

Harry sat down in the only available spare seat which was a big armchair by the window and patted his knee when he saw the helpless look on my face. After a moment of hesitation, I carefully sat down on the very edge of his legs, but he wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me closer to him. "Harry." I hissed and shot a pointed look at his relatives who were sitting around us. "Come on, we're friends. It's not like you have never sat on my lap before." he replied just as quietly and with a sigh, I gave in and got comfortable in his lap. We ate in silence for a few minutes and just watched the others. Gemma sent us an amused grin every once in a while to which Harry replied by sticking out his tongue at her. "You didn't tell us that you had such a beautiful girlfriend, Harry." his aunt suddenly said in our direction and I choked on my food. 

Harry instantly started to patt my back and I desperately tried to breath normally again, my cheeks bright red from the unwanted attention. "Oh, um, we're not... We're just friends." I explained, my voice suddenly an octave higher than usual. "Yes, we're just very good friends." Harry confirmed with a smile which made Gemma cough loudly in the corner. His aunt didn't look entirely convinced, but dropped the topic and instead started asking Harry about his movie which he was happy to talk about. I looked around the room and caught Gemma's eyes who gave me a wide smile before nodding towards Harry and wiggling her eyebrows. After a quick glance at Harry, who smiled at me when he caught me looking at him, I looked back at her and mouthed 'friends' which made her laugh. 

My eyes wandered to the window and I caught a glimpse of the garden behind the house which looked particularly nice in spring with a lot of flowers blossoming all over the garden. Harry and I were just friends, right? Louis and I had only broken up two weeks ago and I was nowhere near ready for another relationship. I silently wondered where Louis was right now and how he was doing. I missed him, but I wasn't sure if it would be okay to contact him as I had been the one to end it. Maybe I should give him some more time. My thoughts wandered back to the secen that had occurred in the kitchen just minutes ago and I felt my cheeks heat up again. 'Just friends, Claire.' I reminded myself more sternly this time and let out a quiet sigh. Harry's hand lightly squeezed my waist and I looked down at him to see him shoot me a look of concern. "Everything alright?" he asked me in a low voice and I nodded and sent him a small smile. "Everything is fine."


	80. Packers Hoodie Or How Mums Give The Best Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one from Harry's POV

Harry's POV:

My mum had insisted that we stayed the night so now I was lying in my old bed with the most beautiful girl lying next to me. She looked incredibly peaceful and carefree and I was relieved that she was getting some sleep for a change. The warm morning sun was shining through a small gap between the curtains, making her hair look like golden silk. Gently, I reached out and carefully brushed some loose strands of hair out of her face. I would never be able to tell her how much her being here meant to me, but I wasn't sure if I had managed to get through the funeral without the reassuring warmth of her small hand in mine. Not wanting to wake her up, I slowly crawled out of my bed and grabbed a hoodie and a hair tie on the way out.

My mum was already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. She smiled when she looked up and saw me standing in the doorway. "Good morning, mum." I greeted her with a smile and pressed a kiss to her cheek, before joining her with the breakfast preparations. "Morning, honey." She gave me a grateful smile and placed a large plate with different fruits on the table, knowing how much I loved a healthy breakfast. "Is Claire still asleep?" she asked me and I looked up and nodded. "Yes, and I am glad she is. She hasn't been sleeping well lately. Of course she would never say anything, but I noticed it anyway." I chuckled and continued buttering the toast in front of me. 

"You really like her, don't you?" my mum asked behind me and the knife slipped off the toast, instead covering the plate with butter. I hastily tried to clean up the mess I made, before I turned around to reply. "I love her mum." I admitted and felt my cheeks turn red. When I looked over to her, I saw that she was giving me a wide smile which I hesitantly returned. "I am so happy you found someone, Harry. I knew that you liked her, I just wanted you to say out loud." she told me with a grin and I shook my head at her cheekiness. "I think you have to be patient with her. She just broke up with Louis and I don't think she's ready to admit to herself that she might have feelings for you, not yet anyway." My mum had always be my mentor and I was glad that I could ask her for advice in this particular matter. "Do you really think she likes me, too?" I asked her, not being able to hide the spark of hope that was filling my chest in my voice.. 

She smiled at me and walked over to me, forcing me to look at her. "I know that this is difficult for you, but I promise you she is worth the wait." I smiled down at her and she took my hand and gave it a light squeeze. "To be honest, I thought you two were a couple when you first introduced her to us because you two seemed to share this special bond. I believe that deep, deep down she is already in love with you, but she isn't ready to admit that to herself or the world just yet. Just stay at her side and treat her well and I am sure she'll come around." my mum finished her encouraging speech and I smiled down at her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you for being the best mum in the world." She hugged me back just as tightly and then pulled away a little bit.

"I am so proud of the man you have become, Harry. There is nothing better for a mum to see her children happy and succeeding in life while living their dream." She was tearing up a bit and I pulled her back into a hug and swayed her lightly from side to side. "Thanks mum." After a few seconds, she pulled away and discretely wiped her eyes with her sleeve, before she went back to preparing tea for everyone. The radio was quietly playing in the background while we were working side by side, until a quiet knock on the kitchen door made me look up. 

Claire was standing in the hallway, slightly leaned against the door frame, looking adorably tired, but not any less beautiful. She had her hair pulled up into a messy bun and I couldn't hide a smile when I saw that she was wearing my green Packers hoodie. She gave us a shy smile and then took a hesitant step into the kitchen, obviously not wanting to interrupt the rare alone time I got with my mum. "Morning, love." I greeted her with a wide smile and she smiled back at me and mumbled a "Morning.", before greeting my mum with a small smile. "Good morning, Anne." My mum returned the smile and placed a big, steaming mug of tea in front of her which she took with a grateful smile. "Thanks, that looks wonderful."

"I thought everyone needed a good breakfast after yesterday." my mum explained to her with a smile and I felt my smile falter a little bit when I thought about the reason why we were here in the first place. When I had finished buttering the last toast, I carefully placed the plate in the middle of the table and chose the seat next to Claire, while my mum sat down opposite me. "Alright, help yourselves, children." She gestured at the food and I didn't need to hear that twice. Everyone, started piling food onto their plates and just when we had started eating a very sleepy Gemma waddled into the kitchen and went straight to the sink to pour herself a cup of tea, before sitting down beside her mum. 

"Morning, honey, did you sleep well?" mum greeted her with an amused smile and put a slice of toast on her plate. Gemma only hummed and took a large sip from her tea, before looking up and spotting Claire sitting opposite her. "Did my little brother behave last night?" she asked with a smirk and hilariously failed to hide a yawn. "Oh, he was alright." Claire replied with a teasing grin in my direction. "He kept hogging the blanket though." I shot her a fake hurt look and pouted with made her giggle. "He still does that?" Gemma asked from over the table and Claire nodded next to me. "He always used to do that all the time when we had to share a bed on holidays." Gemma smirked at me, suddenly a lot more awake than when she had walked in not even three minutes ago.

"Is this the 'let's-embarrass-Harry-day'?" I asked and glared at Gemma from over the table who only chuckled, before helping herself to some fruit. "Ah, don't worry, H. You'll be fine." Claire patted my arm and winked at Gemma who smirked back. "I like you more and more, Claire." she commented with a grin and I saw Claire blush a little bit from the corner of my eye. "Thank you, Gemma, you aren't that bad either." she grinned back and happily munched on her toast, unaware of the stupid grin I had on my face while I was watching her. 

I felt someone's gaze on me and looked over to see that my mum was giving me a knowing smile. "Isn't that Harry's hoodie?" Gemma suddenly asked from across the table and sent me a wide smirk which made me squint my eyes at her. "Um, yes, it actually is. I didn't have anything warm to wear, sorry." Claire gave me an embarrassed smile, her cheeks flushed, and I immediately assured her that she had nothing to worry about. "It's fine, love. Looks better on you than on me anyway." I smiled down at her and gave her leg a reassuring squeeze underneath the table, feeling her relax underneath my touch. Gemma only hummed and shot me a knowing look, before continuing to eat her breakfast. 

When we were all finished, everyone helped doing the dishes and cleaning up, before Gemma disappeared upstairs to get dressed as she wanted to meet up with some old friends from school. "Is Robin at work?" Claire asked my mum as we hung the damp tea towels over the chairs to let them dry. "Yes, unfortunately he couldn't take the day off. He already didn't go to work yesterday and the day before, so he really couldn't miss another day at work." My mum explained and Claire nodded. "So, what are your plans for today?" my mum asked the two of us and I shrugged and looked over to Claire.

"Um, I think I really need to be back in London by tomorrow morning, but maybe I could leave tonight and spend the rest of the day here? Only if that's okay with you, of course." She hastily added with a questioning look in mine and my mum's direction who gave her a warm smile. "You're welcome here as long as you like, my dear." she assured Claire who returned the smile before looking over to me again. "Um, I could drop you off at the station later tonight? I think I'm gonna stay for another couple of days if that's okay with you, mum." My mum beamed at me and I was happy to cheer her up a little bit after she had just lost her dad. "Well, in that case, how about you two go for a walk around town and maybe for a little hike into the fields?" she suggested and Claire nodded and looked over to me. "Sounds great." I agreed with her and she gave me a wide smile, before following me upstairs to get ready for the day.


	81. Holmes Chapel Or How We Shared A Cake

After Harry and I had both gotten dressed, we made our way downstairs and started putting on our shoes and coats. Gemma was already at the door and smirked when she looked at me. "Still wearing Harry's hoodie?" she asked and raised one eyebrow, making me blush a bit. "Well, we can't let her freeze to death just because the weather has decided to abandon spring for a couple of days, now, can we?" Harry asked and smiled at me. I shot him a thankful look and heard Gemma giggle behind me. "Whatever you say, Harry." Still laughing, she left the house and was already gone when we followed her out of the door a couple of minutes later. 

"Do you want to walk into town?" Harry asked me and I nodded and followed him down the road. "It's only about five to ten minutes, so not too far. I can show you the bakery where I worked at. And my old school!" He beamed down at me and was visibly excited to show me around his hometown. "I would love to see them." I assured him with a smile and he put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him as we continued our journey into town. On our way, Harry was greeted by a couple of people who seemed happy to see him. He introduced me to one of his old teachers who was kind enough to stop and chat for a couple of minutes and when we neared the town centre, fifteen minutes had passed.

"I'm sorry for taking so long, it's just so nice to see everyone again." he apologised, but I shook my head. "No, no, no, it's fine." I tried to assure him. "Seriously, Harry, I am glad that you are so popular in your hometown. I know how much you enjoy being back here where you're 'just' Harry." He beamed down and I couldn't help but smile back. "You're amazing, you know that, right?" he asked me and pressed a chased kiss to my forehead. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and grinned up at him. "I know, I'm simply fabulous." Laughing, he pulled me towards a building and as we approached the door, I caught a glimpse of the sign over the door which said 'Bakery', before Harry pulled me inside. 

Inside, Harry was immediately welcomed and pulled into a hug, before the woman turned to face me. "And who are you, my dear?" She gave me a warm, welcoming smile which instantly make me feel at ease. "I'm Claire, Harry's friend from London." She shook my hand and then pulled us behind the counter into a small room at the back. "Now, tell me, Harry, how are you doing? Would you like a cuppa tea or something to eat?" Harry grinned up at her and shot me a questioning look which I answered with a shrug. "I think we can't stay that long today, I'm afraid, but I'll be in town for a couple of days, maybe I could pop by tomorrow and help out for a bit?" he suggested and she beamed up at him. "That would be wonderful, my dear. We'll have plenty of time to catch up tomorrow then. But at least take something for the way." she insisted and so Harry and I left the bakery a couple of minutes later with a small bag filled with different cakes. 

"Now I understand why you enjoy working there so much." I commented with a smile. "What a wonderful woman." He beamed down at me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder again. "She really is remarkable. Just never deliberately drop something in front of her. You won't hear about anything else for weeks." he chuckled and I giggled. "I can totally imagine that." We walked in silence for a couple of minutes, Harry only occasionally pointing something out to me. After about five minutes, we reached his old school which was locked to due to school holidays. "I know it's nothing special, but to me it is. Here I started my first band and we won a local band contest in the gym over there." He pointed towards a large building which was barely visible from the front gate. 

"Did you enjoy school?" I asked him quietly and he looked back down at me and nodded. "Oh, absolutely. I wasn't very good at school, not that I was particularly bad either, but I was more interested in having a good time, than studying. It was sometimes a bit hard for me because Gemma had gone to the same school and she had always been a top students and I kind of felt like I had to be as good as her, but I wasn't. It took me a while to realise that and then I just became that kid at the back of the class that teachers wanted to kill, but secretly liked because I was still always kind and respectful. I just really liked having a good time." He chuckled and shook his head, before starting to walk again.

"I don't think not being excellent in school makes you a bad person, Harry." I told him and he turned his head to look at me. "Everyone has different talents and yours lie in music and entertaining and that's exactly what you did in school. You just combine it with your natural charm and constant respectful behaviour towards the people around which is why it's really hard to stay mad at you." I said with a smile that he returned. "Thank you for saying that." He pulled me closer to his side and we continued walking down the road.

"You know I always wanted a brother or a sister. When I was younger I used to ask my mum if I could get a little brother or a little sister for Christmas, but she always told me no. It was only years later that I understood that my parents wouldn't be able to have anymore children because of my dead's illness." I felt Harry press a light kiss to my head and leaned into him a little bit more, as far as that was possible while walking down a street. "I am sorry, love." Looking up, I saw that he was already looking down at me. "It's fine, Harry. In a way, I am kind of glad that i don't have any younger siblings who would have been even younger when my dad passed away." He nodded and then gently guided me down a path to our left which was slowly ascending in front of us.

When we reached the top of the small hill, we were suddenly overlooking wide fields and a viaduct which was stretching itself over the fields and hills in the distance. "Wow." I said quietly and I saw Harry nod next to me from the corner of my eyes. "This is where I used to go when I needed some time to think. I still go here sometimes when I'm back home for a couple of days, like now. It's so peaceful here and I hardly meet anyone." My eyes wandered over the fields underneath us. Feeling Harry's gaze on me I looked up to see him watching me with a small smile on his face. "What?" I asked him, but he only shook his head and reached for my hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I'm just really happy that you're here." he admitted quietly and I squeezed his hand in return and leaned my head against his shoulder. "Me, too." 

We stood there in silence for a minute or two, just enjoying each other's company. "Want to have a little picnic?" Harry suddenly asked me out of the blue and held up the bag we had gotten in the bakery. I nodded and he intertwined our fingers and pulled me down the hill, quickly falling into a run, while pulling me along with him. Laughing loudly, I followed him while he continued to run and bounce around like a maniac. Completely out of breath, he slumped down into the grass at the bottom of the hill and pulled me down with him. Not expecting it, I promptly fell on top of him and when I looked up, his face was suddenly very close to mine. 

We just looked at each other for a couple of seconds, both breathing heavily and unable to move. His minty breath fanned over my face and his green eyes held mine captured with his intense gaze. He had dropped the bag during the fall and now slowly raised his hand to brush some hair out of my face, his long fingers lingering on my cheek. I felt my cheeks heat up underneath his fingertips and quickly averted my gaze, making him snap out of whatever we had been in, as well. His hand fell back to his side and I carefully sat up and brushed the grass of my coat. "Picnic?" I asked with a small smile and he nodded and gracefully stood up, before holding out a hand for me, as well. 

Without hesitation, I put my hand in his and he pulled me up in a sweeping motion, making me slam into his chest. His arm instantly wrapped itself around my waist to stabilise me and for the second time in the span of two minutes, our faces were only inches away from each other, our noses nearly touching. "Ooops, sorry." I giggled nervously and secretly wanted to slap myself for my stupid reaction. "No problem, love." He took a step back and picked the bag off the ground, before guiding me over the fields to a long wooden fence which was separating two fields from each other where he let go off my hand.

After climbing onto the top bar, he held out his hand to me and pulled me up, as well. When we were both securely sat on the fence, Harry opened the bag and we both peered inside. "I love her more and more." I commented with a laugh and he nodded in agreement. "Here, try these! I used to love them when I worked there." He handed me a cake which smelled incredibly like lemon, before pulling out a chocolate muffin. Taking a small bite out of my cake, I moaned quietly, making Harry chuckle. "It's amazing, isn't it?" he asked me with a wide smile and I nodded and swallowed. "This is what I imagine heaven must taste like." I commented and closed my eyes for a second. "Is there a second one?" I asked and opened my eyes again. 

Harry peered into the bag and then shook his head. "Then you have to eat the rest, here." I held the rest of the cake in front of his mouth, but he immediately shook his head. "No, you have it!" Ignoring his words, I started waving the cake in front of his face, drawing circles and infinity signs into the air, making him laugh. "Beautiful, love, but I'm still not going to eat it." The cake did a pirouette, before stopping in front of Harry's mouth. Giggling quietly, I looked up at him and met his green eyes which were staring down at me. "Okay, okay, you win." He gave in and leaned forward, taking a large bite, his lips accidentally brushing my fingers. He left a little bit for me and with a satisfied look in his direction, I shoved the rest of the cake into my mouth, managing to make a mess of myself in the process. 

Next to me, Harry nearly fell off the fence because he was laughing so hard. "Not funny, Styles." I grumbled and wiped the remaining cake of my face, while trying to stay on top of the fence. "Here, you forgot something." He leaned over and wiped his thumb across my chin, making my cheeks turn crimson red. He licked the cake of his thumb and my stomach churned. "Thanks." I mumbled and looked down at my hands. We sat there in silence for a little bit, while Harry finished his chocolate muffin. "Wanna go home?" he asked me and when I nodded he jumped off the fence. I tried to imitate him, but my jump and particularly the landing was a lot less graceful and Harry unsuccessfully tried to hide a grin, before he tugged at my hand and pulled me along with him over the fields back home.


	82. The Boy In The Park Or How I Receive A Letter

When I walked into the hallway the morning after I had returned from Holmes Chapel, I saw that we had a received a couple of letters. Most of them were bills which made my stomach churn, but when I looked through them, a letter addressed to me stuck out. Immediately recognising the handwriting, I turned the letter around and opened it with shaking fingers. A piece of paper fell out of the envelope, its lines filled with Louis' familiar handwriting. I picked up and took a deep breath, before I started reading it.

Dear Claire,

I hope you don't mind me writing you. 

I didn't know how to say this, but I know that I had to and it would have been a hell of a text if I had typed all of this, so here is a letter. It's been a while since I have written a proper letter and Lottie, who is visiting at the moment, just walked in on me writing this and decided that I have either gone crazy or am really ill, but I can assure you that I am neither. So, where was I? Oh, yes, now I remember. 

Claire, I know you very well and I know that you are blaming yourself for the breakup and I want you to know that it's not your fault. Let's write this again because you sometimes need to hear these important things twice. ;) This is not your fault. We both made mistakes and we both mutually agreed to go back to just being friends, alright? I still love you very much and I will always love you, in one way or another, but I want you to know that I am not angry at you. I never was and never will be, because a relationship is something between two people, Claire, not one. Two. And you did absolutely nothing wrong.

No one can force feelings for someone else. And you could have stayed with me and you might have fallen in love with me eventually, but it also just could have been a great relationship without you falling in love with me and maybe it's best that we ended things the way we did. Because you deserve the best you can get, Claire, you really do. And in the past few days I have come to realise that this might not be me. Maybe it's someone who you haven't even met. Maybe it's someone you already know. 

Harry is like a brother to me and I know that he never intentionally did anything to sabotage our relationship. He is one of the best people I know and I have seen the way he looks at you, Claire. He looks at you like you are the best thing that has ever happened to him and you are not even his girlfriend. The selfish part of me is slapping me left and right as I am writing this, but if there is the just the slightest chance that you feel something for Harry, something that you maybe didn't feel for me, then please follow your heart and be happy. You deserve it, Claire, and so does Harry. 

I will stay in Los Angeles for a little longer, but I would love to see you again when I'm back in London next month, however, only of course if you would like to see me, too. I miss my weird friend.

Louis xxx

A tear rolled down my cheek and wet the slightly wrinkled piece of paper which was grasped tightly with my shaking hands. He wrote me a letter. And not just any letter, but one of the most beautiful letters I had ever received. I hastily wiped my cheeks and slowly sat down at the kitchen table, the letter still in my hands. "follow your heart and be happy", "He looks at you like you are the best thing that has ever happened to him" My fingers traced his words and I felt like my head was about to explode. Did I like Harry? Did I like him more than as a friends? Could I allow myself to like Harry as more as a friend? Would I be able to handle everything that came along with being Harry's Styles girlfriend?

Shaking my head to clear my mind, I carefully pushed the letter back into its envelope and hid it in the pocket of my hoodie. I needed some time to think. I got up and made my way to my room, the letter in my pocket feeling like a heavier and heavier with every step, its weight pressing down on my lungs, making it unable to breath. Without giving it a second look, I shoved it into my nightstand and before grabbing my wallet, keys and my phone, very happy that I had already taken a shower. Suddenly, the walls of the flat seemed to be closing up on me and I felt like I was suffocating within my four walls. My breathing picked up and I rushed to the front door where I slipped into my boots and coat, before rushing out into the mild spring morning. 

I didn't look where I was going and just kept walking, but my feet automatically carried me to the park. On a lonely bench, which was hidden on behind two big weeping willows, I was finally able to breath again. I rested my head on my knees and just let the tears flow, my body shaking with sobs. After a minute or two, a ball came rolling in my direction and stopped directly in front of me. When I looked up, I saw a little boy running towards me, chasing his ball. When he saw my tear-stained cheeks, he stopped and shot me a shy glance. 

"Are you alright?" he asked me, and hesitantly crouched down to pick up his ball. "Yes, yes, I'm fine." I tried to reassure him, but he didn't seem to believe me. "But you're crying." he pointed out and scrunched up his nose, obviously confused. "I'm just very happy." I told him with a small smile and wiped my face with my sleeve. "You don't look happy though." he commented with a frown, now safely holding the ball in his small hands. "I'll be alright, don't worry about me, kiddo." I assured him with a warm smile, this time making sure that it reached my eyes. After a few seconds, he nodded. "You should go and cuddle with someone. Cuddling always makes me feel better." he said with a shy smile and after a small wave, he turned around and disappeared between the trees just as fast as he had appeared in the first place.


	83. Worth The Wait Or How I Met Harry's Friends

I must have spent more time than expected in the park because when I returned it was already wide after noon. On the way to the kitchen I checked my phone and saw that Harry had texted me. With a smile, I opened it and promptly run into the kitchen door, causing me to bang my head against it. I hissed and blinked a couple of times until the pain had lessened a bit. When I was safely seated on one of our kitchen chairs, I looked at Harry's text again.

"Hi, love, I hope you're doing well. I am going out with some of my friends for dinner tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to join us? I'll invite you to make up for coming to Holmes Chapel with me. ;) Would love to see you, but if you're busy I'll just drop by during the next couple of days instead. H xxx" I starred at the winky face for a couple of seconds. I didn't have any plans for tonight and not having to cook sounded amazing. With the only thing to be done for uni was waiting for a feedback from my tutor who was ill, there wasn't really anything which prevented me from going. The only thing I was kind of nervous about was meeting some more of Harry's friends, but I would deal with that when I was actually meeting them tonight. I replied with a short text telling him that I would love to join them, before making myself some lunch and then spending the rest of the afternoon curled up on our sofa reading Harry Potter.

At ten past seven, the door bell rung and I hopped towards the door, while trying to squeeze my foot into the heel I wanted to wear. "Hi." I grinned up at Harry who was looking down at me with an amused smile. I stumbled slightly and automatically held onto his arm to stabilise myself. "Whoops." I said breathlessly and finally stood securely on both feet. I looked up and saw that Harry was already looking down at me. "Hi, love." He pressed a short kiss to my cheek and then elegantly maneuvered us inside. "You look beautiful." he complimented me with a smile and I felt my cheeks heat up in response to his words. "Thanks, you don't look too shabby yourself." I replied with a smirk, making him laugh. 

"What designer are you wearing tonight?" I asked, chuckling at the memory of when he had tried to educate me in this very same hallway a couple of months ago. "This, my fashion-inexperienced friend, is a Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen suit." He did a little twirl and I laughed. "Well, I hope you will want to be seen with me then because my dress is from H&M." I commented dryly and Harry let his green eyes wander up and down my body, making me suddenly very much aware of how tight the dress was. "I suppose this will do." he said in a disparaging tone, but I saw his mouth twitch and a moment later we were both laughing.

"You're impossible." I laughed and shook my head at him, before quickly walking back into my room to get my purse. When I turned around, I felt his eyes on me and was glad that my hair was covering the big part of exposed skin at my back, at least for now. "My eyes are up here." I reminded him without looking at him. When I turned around I saw him smirking down at me, before he offered me his arm. "Ready to go?" he asked me and I nodded and reached for my grey coat, but before I could take it, Harry had already let go of me and helped me into the coat. When I brushed my hair aside to slip into the coat, I felt his breath hitch and was suddenly very much aware of how close he was standing behind me. 

"Do you, um, do you think your friends will like me?" I asked shyly and was glad that he couldn't see my face. However, a moment later, I felt his hands on my shoulder, lightly turning me around to face him. "Hey, look at me, love." Hesitantly, I lifted my gaze and saw him looking down at me with a warm smile on his face. "You have nothing to worry about, alright? It's just a small group, all very close friends of mine, and you are one of the most amazing people I know, so of course they will like you. If not, they're no longer my friends." he joked and I managed a small grin. "I'll be there the whole time, alright?" he asked me and I nodded. "Good." he took a step back and intertwined our fingers, before gently pulling me out of the door and towards his car.

When we arrived at the restaurant, Harry first checked the area for paparazzi, before climbing out of the car and helping me out as well. We quickly made our way into the restaurant where we were greeted by a waiter who instantly showed us to the table where Harry's friends were already waiting for us. My whole body was lightly shaking because I was so nervous and I felt Harry's warm hand gently place itself on my lower back, automatically calming me down a little bit. "I'm here." he mumbled into my ear just as we arrived at the table. Four women were sitting at the table and two guys. All greeted us with warm smiles and Harry hugged everyone, before introducing me to the group. "Everyone, this is my friend Claire, Claire these are Leslie, Ellen, Jacki, Sara, Ben and Adam." 

I waved shyly and shot Harry a thankful smile when he pulled out a chair for me. When we had both sat down, Leslie, who was sitting next to me, send me a warm smile. "So, how did you and Harry meet?" she asked me curiously, while Harry started talking to Ellen and Ben next to me. I chuckled when I thought back to our first meeting. "Well, I literally bumped into Louis on the Tube on the way to work back in August and then he and the others suddenly appeared at work and somehow I became friends with all of them and now I'm here." I explained with a smile and she laughed. "He's a great friend, isn't he?" she asked me with a wide smile and I nodded. "How did you two meet?" I asked her and jumped a bit, when I suddenly felt Harry's hand on my thigh. 

Trying to keep a straight face, I had to use all of my concentration to focus on Leslie in front of me. "My husband, who is sadly working tonight, dragged me along one night and introduced us and he has been an incredibly supportive friend ever since. He sometimes babysits for us and the kids absolutely adore him. I think he secretly sometimes wants to steal them." we both laughed and then were interrupted by the waiter who took our orders. I quickly threw a look at the menu and was glad that they started at the other end of the table, before I decided on some pasta. Harry's hand only left my thigh when our food arrived and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding when his hand was securely wrapped around his fork. 

The conversations never stopped and everyone had a great time chatting and joking with each other. Particularly Leslie and Ellen tried to include me into the conversation, as much as they could which I was very thankful for. When I got up to use the bathroom, Jacki and Sara decided to join me, leaving Leslie and Ellen to deal with the guys' jokes about how women always have to do everything as a group. The last thing I heard before we were out of ear shot, was Ellen's question whether any of them had ever read Harry Potter which clearly taught girls to never go to the toilet on their own. 

Chuckling, the three of us walked to the bathroom and each disappeared into our respective stalls. The other two chatted to each other, while I stayed quiet, unsure of whether I could say something as well. When we washed our hands, Sara caught my eyes in the mirror and smiled at me. "Harry really likes you, you know?" she asked me and I blushed deeply and hastily avoided her gaze. "I, um, I know." I admitted quietly. When I looked up again, I saw that the other two were watching me intently. "How do you feel about him? Jacki asked me with a grin, making me blush even more. "Awww, you like him, too, don't you?" Sara asked excitedly and I shrugged, then nodded and the shrugged again.

"I don't know. I mean, yes, I kind of do, but I am not sure if we would ever work out, you know?" I admitted sheepishly and saw them exchange a look. "Look, Harry is one of the most amazing people I know and if you like him you should give it a try. You will never know what will happen if you don't give it a try." Jacki encouraged me and Sara nodded in agreement. "Just think about it, alright?" she asked me and I nodded, before we made our way back to the table. Little did they know that I hadn't been thinking about anything else for the past two days. Harry smiled at me and lightly squeezed my hand underneath the table when I sat down again, earning me a knowing look from the female part of the group. Before we all separated at the end of the night, the girls all gave me their numbers and Leslie offered me to call or text her any time if I needed someone to talk to, which I responded to with an offer to babysit for her whenever she needed someone.

The ride home was very quiet and Harry seemed to be just as lost in thought as I was. When the car came to a stop in front of my house, he turned his head to look at me. "Thank you for coming with me tonight." I smiled and reached over to give his hand a light squeeze, before letting go again. "You have a lovely group of friends, thank you for inviting me." I thanked him in return and a smile spread across his face. "I am glad you had a good time." We smiled at each other for a couple of seconds, before Harry cleared his throat and opened the car door. Before I could follow him, he was already on my side and opened the car door for me and helped me out. I thanked him quietly and shivered slightly in the cool, spring night. Instantly noticing it, Harry pulled me closer to him and walked me up to my flat. 

We stood in front of the door for a couple of seconds and my stomach felt like a bunch of elephants were dancing Conga in it. My eyes flickered down to Harry's pink lips for a couple of seconds and a voice at the back of my head was screaming "Do it!" at me. When I looked up again, I saw that he was looking down at me with a fond smile on his face. He slowly lifted his hand and gently brushed some hair out of my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek. "Harry, I..." I started of, but then lost my courage and closed my mouth again. He didn't say anything, but his gaze wandered down to my lips,, before they met mine again. He hesitated, his eyes silently asking for permission. I took a deep breath and took a step closer to him.

He was so close that I could count every single freckle, every little imperfection which made him so beautiful. My eyes searched his again, and I was surprised by how much longing I could see in them. "Claire." His voice was barely a whisper and I felt his breath fan across my face. "Yes?" I asked him breathlessly and he gulped. "Can I kiss you?" His voice was slightly shaky and I could hear the uncertainty which was also visible in his eyes. There was a short pause, before I took all courage and nodded. 

That was enough for Harry and after a final questioning look, he leaned in and closed the gap between us. My eyes shut close and the only thing I could concentrate on were Harry's lips on mine. Kissing him was like lying in the sun on a warm summer day or like the feathery touch of a butterfly on your hand. His kiss was gentle and sweet, as if he couldn't believe that he was actually kissing me. We pulled apart and he rested his forehead against mine. "Wow." I whispered and opened my eyes again to see him grin down at me. "This was so worth waiting for." he commented with a light smirk and gently cupped my face with one hand. "Are you sure?" I asked him with a small grin and he pretended to have to think about it. "Ummmm..." I gave him a light shove and he stumbled a bit and tightened his grip on my waist.

"Oi, if you're not sure we don't have to do it again." I joked and his eyes widened. "No, no, no, no! That's not what I meant." he tried to assure me, but I only raised an eye brow at him. "Whatever you say, Styles." He chuckled and leaned in again. "Let's try this again, just to be sure." I smiled into the kiss and this time responded straight away. This second kiss was a lot less gentle and we only pulled away to catch our breathes. "No, this was definitely worth waiting for." Harry grinned down at me and I giggled and pecked his cheek. "I'm glad you think so. Wanna come in for a movie and some wine?" I asked him and his face lit up. "I could use some wine." Smirking, I unlocked the door and giggling like two teenagers, we stumbled inside and ended up with a wine glass each in front of the TV a couple of minutes later.

I felt Harry press a kiss to my hair and snuggled deeper into him. "Claire?" he asked me quietly and I hummed. "Thank you." he said quietly and I hummed. He didn't have to say what he was thanking me for, I knew what he meant. I shifted a bit to look up at him and gave him a wide smile. "Thank you for being so patient with me. But, um, can we please keep this to ourselves for at least another two weeks? I don't want to hurt Louis or be disrespectful." I admitted quietly and he immediately nodded in agreement and smiled down at me. "I love how you always care about hurting others, of course I'm okay with that. And you are worth waiting for." he added with a smile, making me blush a bit. Instead of saying something I leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his cheek, before cuddling back into his chest. 

"Can we watch Finding Nemo?" I asked out of the blue and felt Harry laughing underneath me. "Random choice, but why not?" Happily, I grabbed the remote and opened Lily's and mine Netflix account, quickly trying to skip past the 'Last Watched' list, but apparently not fast enough. "Victorious?" Harry chuckled and I turned around to glare at him. "Hey, no judging, alright? It's a great show that I used to love when I was in my early teens and Avan Jogia is really cute." I selected the movie and then turned around again, only to see Harry pouting. "You're cuter." I assured him with a grin and shook my head, when he nodded with a satisfied look on his face. "I'm not cute though." he whispered into my ear and his breath on my neck send shivers down my spine. "I'm hot." I couldn't really argue with that, so I just cuddled back into him and ignored the smug grin on his face, before he intertwined our fingers and focused his attention on the fish on the screen in front of us.


	84. Stay Or How Claire Fell Asleep In My Arms

Harry's POV:

By the time the film had finished, Claire had fallen asleep in my lap, her head leaned against my chest and her fingers tightly clasped around my own. Her chest was rising in a steady rhythm and her breath tickled my neck, but this moment was too good to be interrupted. I still couldn't believe that I have had the privilege to kiss her, not only once but, twice already. It was like I could still feel her soft lips on mine and the tingling sensation in my stomach that the kiss had caused earlier. The stairwell of this building had just turned into one of my favourite places in the world. 

My eyes wandered back down to the sleeping girl in my lap and after a moment of hesitation, I decided to move her into her bed. If I could have, I would have sat with her sleeping body on mine all night, but I knew that we would both wake up with sore muscles if I did that so I decided carefully move her instead. As gently as I could, I loosened her tight grip on my hand and she moved a little bit and got a cute little frown on her sleeping face, but didn't wake up. Her fingers automatically wrapped themselves around my shirt and I smiled down at her for a couple of seconds, before I gently picked her up and carried her into her bed room. Not wanting to wake her up, I didn't turn any lights on and instead cautiously tried to make my way to her bed without tripping over anything on the floor. 

After I had gently placed her on the bed, I tried to get my shirt out of her tight grip, as well, but she made it very difficult. After two minutes of careful pulling, I finally managed to free myself and wrapped her duvet around her, not daring to help her out of her dress. I didn't think that she would appreciate the gesture and I didn't exactly trust myself after I had seen a glimpse of her lace bra earlier. Leaning in, I pressed a light kiss to her forehead and then moved back towards the door, when her voice make me freeze in my step. "Stay, please, Harry." 

My head snapped around so fast that it hurt me a little bit and I rubbed it with one hand while trying to make out her face in the darkness to determine whether or not she was awake. "Harry?" she asked again, this time more clearly and I swiftly walked back over to her bed. "I'm here." I assured her and placed my hand over hers which was lying on her duvet. "What time is it? Did I fall asleep on you?" she asked me sleepily and slightly sat up. "You were asleep by the end of the movie and I just carried you to your bed instead because I didn't want you to be sore by tomorrow morning." I explained to her carefully. The light from the street lamp outside her window barely light up the room, but I could vaguely make out her eyes which were looking at me through the dark.

She yawned and run a hand through her hair. "I'm so sorry I fell asleep on you." she apologised and I instantly shook my head. "No, no, no, it's fine, seriously. Do you want to get changed into something more comfortable?" I asked her and she nodded and pushed the blanket back with a slight groan. I chuckled to myself and watched her as she got up and shuffled towards her closet where she took out a random t-shirt. When I saw that she struggled with her zipper, I jumped to her help and slowly unzipped her dress, my hands for some reason shaking a little bit. Praying that she wouldn't hear the unsteadiness in my voice, I took a step back. "All done, love." 

What she did next showed me that she probably wasn't as awake as she seemed because the Claire I knew usually didn't get changed in front of other people, and I was sure that I wasn't an exception to that rule. I involuntarily held my breath, when she dropped her dress and stepped out of it, suddenly only in her underwear. My eyes wandered over her back and her long, exposed legs and even though my mind was very much aware that this was a very bad time for this, my body was speaking a whole other language. I was very glad that it was dark and that Claire had her back to me, so I uncomfortably shifted my weight from one leg to the other and silently watched her as she skillfully pulled her t-shirt over her head and then unclasped her bra and magically pulled it out of the bottom of her t-shirt.

When she turned around again, our eyes met and even in the darkness I was sure that she had just realised that I was still in the room. Hastily dropping her gaze, she slipped past me back into her bed and when she had pulled the duvet up to her chest again I let out a breath I wasn't aware I had been holding for that long. I awkwardly stood next to her bed and watched her as she made herself comfortable. "Um, I'll..." I started and took a hesitant step towards the door. "I, um, I meant what I said five minutes ago." she said from her bed and when I looked back to her, I saw that she was still watching me. "I wasn't sure, I mean, you were still half asleep and I..." My voice faded and the room was filled with silence once more. She lightly patted the space next to her. "Please." 

It didn't take much convincing for me to strip down to my underwear and lie down next to her. Falling asleep next to Claire and especially waking up with her in my arms were some of the best moments I have had so far. Something about feeling the warmth of her body next to mine made me feel safe and calmed me down in a way that nothing else could. I gently pulled her a bit closer to me and felt her snuggle into my side, her head rested in the crook of my neck. Pressing a light kiss to her forehead, I wrapped the duvet a bit tighter around the both of us and felt my whole body relax. "Good night, love." I whispered into the dark, but her breathing had already become very quiet and regular again, indicating that she had fallen back asleep. "I love Claire." I whispered into the dark and pressed another kiss to her forehead, before closing my eyes as well. I fell asleep in a matter of seconds, for once completely content, with the sleeping girl in my arms and the fresh memory of her lips on mine playing over and over in my head.


	85. Morning Kisses Or No Sex In The Kitchen

I woke up with Harry's arms wrapped around me. His long hair tickled my neck, but when I tried to move, his arms tightened their grip around me. "Morning." His voice was slightly hoarse and a lot deeper than usually. I shifted a bit and was met with a pair of piercing green eyes which were beaming down at me. "What's that look for?" I asked him curiously and his smile deepened. "I'm just happy to wake up next to you." He pecked my nose and chuckled when I frowned a bit and pulled away. "No nose-kisses?" he asked me with an amused smile and I shook my head. "Alright then, how about that." 

He leaned in and placed a light kiss just underneath my jaw, before wandering slowly up to the corner of my mouth. "I haven't brushed my teeth since yesterday morning!" I protested and he pulled away a bit and gave me a shocked look. "Ew! So have I!" I chuckled and when he lightly pressed his lips to mine I smiled into the kiss. "I'm so happy that I can finally kiss you." Harry admitted sheepishly and I saw a hint of a blush on his cheeks. He propped himself up on one arm and gently brushed his fingers over my cheek and my lips. "I don't expect you to fall madly in love with me within a matter of days, but I am very happy that you're giving me a chance, love. That you're giving US a chance." He pressed another light kiss to my forehead, before rolling back over to his side of the bed. 

I turned my head to look at him. His eyes were focused on my own and I felt like I could stare right into his soul. "I don't even know how I deserve you, Harry." I admitted and a frown appeared on his face. "What do you mean by that?" he asked me seriously. I took a deep breath and rolled over onto my side so that I was facing him. "Well, you are you and I am just me, you know? Just Claire. I never even allowed myself to feel anything other than friendship for you because I never thought that someone as amazing as you could ever fall for someone like me." I admitted timidly and Harry's frown deepened. 

His hand underneath the duvet brushed against my thigh, making goosebumps appear on my skin, before it found my hand and lightly intertwined our fingers. "Sam messed you up pretty well, didn't he?" he asked me and my eyes widened in surprise. "How do you know...?" I asked him and felt his thumb draw small circles on the back of my hand. "Your dad told me about him." he explained and I nodded, silently wondering what else they had talked about while me and my mum had done the dishes. "Claire?" he interrupted my thoughts and I looked back over to him. "I want you to listen very closely to me, alright?" he asked seriously and I nodded.

"You are one of the most amazing people I know. You are someone very special. There are only very few people in this world who can touch you in a way that no one else can and you are definitely one of them. Your kindness and compassion make you unique, Claire. You are insanely talented, but at the same time one of the most humble people I know. You hardly ever ask for anything, you just give and you always put everyone's needs before yours. You are funny and sassy and a little bit clumsy and one of the funniest drunks I have had the pleasure to get drunk with." I blushed and he chuckled a bit. "So when you're saying that you are 'just you', I will have to disagree with you, love. Because to me you are you and that's what makes you so special." 

My heart was beating like crazy and unable to say anything, I just leaned in and pressed my lips to his. "Never doubt how amazing you are, Claire." Harry whispered when he pulled back, making me smile. Our moment was interrupted by my loudly grumbling stomach, causing us both to laugh. "Let's feed the little alien in your stomach." Harry teased me and pulled me out of bed, before guiding me into the kitchen where he forced me to sit down while he prepared us some breakfast.

I watched him silently with a goofy smile on my face, while he hummed along to the song which was playing on the radio. He was still only wearing his underwear and I was enjoying the view in front of me immensely, his muscles flexing every so often. "Enjoying the show, love?" he suddenly asked and my eyes snapped up, only to see him smirking down at me. I blushed deeply and he laughed, before he turned back around to fish the tea bags out of our mugs. "What if I am?" I asked him teasingly, making him turn around faster than I could even blink. With one big step he was in front of me and the look on his face told me that I shouldn't have asked that question. "Well, for starters you can't really deny it." His eyes wandered down and I felt my cheeks heat up when I saw what he was talking about. "It's cold in here." I weakly defended myself, but Harry didn't really seem convinced by my answer and I couldn't really blame him, because neither was I.

He hummed and crouched down in front of me and placed both of his big hands on my thighs, gently running them up and down. This situation was escalating very quickly, but I still somehow felt completely save and comfortable, so I let him be. Hesitantly, I placed both of my hands on his broad shoulders and let one of them slowly wander of his chest, lightly tracing his tattoos. Goosebumps appeared on his skin and after a couple of seconds I couldn't help myself anymore and closed the gap between us. Harry immediately returned the kiss and placed one hand on the back of my head, while the other moved up my thigh. My hands were somehow tangled in his curls and my whole body responded to his touch, like it had only been waiting for him.

"Oi, no sex in the kitchen, children!" Harry and I jumped apart and looked up to see a smirking Niall and Lily standing in the kitchen door. I was so embarrassed that I didn't even meet their eyes. Harry, on the other hand, quickly pulled me off my chair before sitting down himself and pulling me onto his lap. When I sat down I understood why and grinned a little bit, before I remembered why he had done it. I pulled my t-shirt down as much as possible, before I hesitantly met Niall's and Lily's eyes. "Well, it looks like you two finally admitted your feelings to each other. Was about time." Niall commented dryly and walked over to the fridge where he helped himself to a yogurt. 

Lily shot me a pointed look which clearly said that we would have a long chat later today and I grinned sheepishly. "So are you two now official?" Niall asked us and happily dug into his yogurt. "Claire doesn't want to hurt or be disrespectful towards Louis so we'll keep it to us for another two weeks and it would be amazing if you wouldn't say anything to anyone either." Harry explained and absentmindedly started to play with my fingers. "No problem." Lily assured us and took a seat next to Niall at the kitchen table. "To be honest, I'm surprised you lasted that long." Niall commented with a smirk and shot Harry a grin. "I was expecting you to crack a lot earlier." he said in my direction and I felt my cheeks heat up again. "Oh stop teasing my girl." Harry said behind me, but I could hear the smile in his voice. Lily and I exchanged a look, before smiling widely and I felt Harry's arms tighten around my waist. "So, back to no sex in the kitchen." Niall smirked at us and I buried my face in Harry's neck, while the others erupted in laughter. 

After our breakfast had been so rudely interrupted, Harry and I both took a shower and then cuddled up together on my bed, just enjoying each other's presence. My computer was playing some music in the background, while we lay together on my bed, his finger drawing random patterns on my stomach. The whole situation felt weirdly familiar and intimate as if we had been together for much longer than just a few hours. "You okay, love?" Harry asked quietly after a while and I slightly turned my head to look at him. "Perfect." I gave him a wide smile which her returned before he leaned in for a kiss. When he pulled away, he pressed another light kiss to my forehead. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy to have me in his arms, constantly stroking or kissing a part of my body, one of his hands always intertwined with one of mine, as if he had to make sure that this was real. 

I gave his hand a light squeeze and he returned it, before raising our intertwined hands up to his mouth to press a light kiss to the back of my hand. The next song on my playlist started and I felt Harry chuckled underneath me when the familiar guitar intro of Little Things filled the room. He hummed quietly and then started to quietly sing the song into my ear, making me blush. When he reached Niall's solo, he pressed a light kiss to my cheek between each verse, making me giggle. There was a knock on the door and after I had shouted "Come in!" Niall poked his head through the door. 

"God, you two lovebirds make me sick." He pulled a face and Harry reached next to him and threw a pillow at his head, making the two of us laugh and Niall pout. "If you two think that you can keep the PDA to a minimum, Lily and I were wondering if you two wanted to join us for lunch. She cooked a massive amount of pasta that would even pose a challenge for me." he explained and Harry and I exchanged a look. "Hear, hear!" I joked and Niall threw the pillow back at me, but Harry kindly caught it before it could hit me in the face and glared at Niall. "We'll be there in a minute." He promised him and Niall nodded, before closing the door again."I think we need to get up." I sighed dramatically and Harry responded by poking me in the side. "Oi!" I nearly jumped off my bed and Harry followed me out of the room, still laughing at my reaction. 

Lily and Niall exchanged a look when we entered the kitchen and sat down opposite them at the table. Niall was already loading pasta onto his plate while we all eyes him critically to make sure that we had enough left. "Alright, that's enough." Lily interrupted him and pulled the bowl towards her, leaving Niall with a shocked expression on his face. She grinned at him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, before piling some pasta onto her plate. When she was finished as well, I pulled Harry's plate next to mine and tried to divide the pasta onto both of our plates as evenly as possible. Lily didn't like tomatoes so she had made a cream sauce with bacon for the others, while I got a small vegetarian tomato sauce which earned her a wide smile from me.

"Wow, Nialler is one happy chap if you always cook that good." Harry complimented Lily and she blushed and beamed at Niall who pecked her cheek, as he couldn't respond otherwise with a mouth full of pasta. "And we are the ones who are supposed to keep the PDA to a minimum, hm?" I asked with a grin and Harry chuckled next to me. "Well, we weren't the ones who were caught making out in the kitchen in only their underwear." Niall commented dryly and I blushed a little bit, but Harry jumped to our defense. "Well at least we can't be heard through the wall." he commented with a smirk. That made Lily blush and Niall laugh, before he stole a piece of bacon from Lily's plate who swatted his hand away like an annoying fly.

The four of us chatted throughout our lunch and Lily and I enjoyed the banter between Harry and Niall, who were throwing jokes and teasing comments back and forth. "We should have a party." Lily suddenly suggested making us all look at her with surprised faces. "Don't look at me like that, we really should! I just thought about how much I miss seeing all of you together and a party would be the perfect opportunity to get everyone together and have a good time. Maybe for your birthday?" she suggested in my direction and I grinned and nodded, but then suddenly remembered something. "But won't you be already on set filming?" I asked Harry with a frown who nodded. "We'll start filming in three weeks. And I have the Another Man Magazine shoot this week, next week after the first hairdresser appointment and the week after that." He thought for a minute. "I'll definitely try to make it, love, I promise." He pressed a light kiss to my temple and I leaned into him, while the others started making some plans for the party.

"You alright, love?" Harry whispered into my ear after I hadn't said anything for a couple of minutes. I nodded and he gave my thigh a light squeeze underneath the table which went unnoticed by the other two who were discussing where to have the party as Lily refused to completely clean the flat for over two hours again so soon. "When's the hairdressers' appointment next week?" I asked him quietly and searched in his eyes for something other than excitement. "Um, Tuesday at eleven, I think. You can come if you want to." Nodding, I leaned in and played with the rings on his left hand, while I listened to the conversation around me.


	86. Broken Mugs Or That's What Friends Are For

I woke up with an uneasy feeling in my stomach and rolled over to check my alarm clock. The date showed the 4 May 2016. Today my dad would have turned fifty-four years old. Rolling back onto my back, I stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, unable to get myself out of bed. Silent tears wet my cheeks and disappeared in my hair, but I didn't stop them. The flat was completely silent as Lily was away to visit her parents, the only noises being the loud ticking of the kitchen clock which could even be heard in my room at the other end of the hallway. 

After a couple of minutes, I managed to get out of bed and wrapped a fleece blanket around my shoulders, before I walked over to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. While I waited for the water to boil I searched for a tissue, but eventually gave up and took a piece of kitchen roll instead. On my way back to my room, the mug slipped out of my hands and burst into hundreds of tiny peaces on my kitchen floor, the hot tea burning my feet. I let out a small scream and then burst into tears, squatting down on the cold kitchen floor. Sobs shook my body and when I carefully tried to pick up one of the bigger pieces, I cut my finger on a sharp piece of china. 

After pressing a kitchen towel to my bleeding finger, I reached for my phone on the table and called the first number that came to my mind. It rang a few times before Harry's voice mail answered. "Hi, this is Harry, please leave a message after the beep." I let out a strangled sob and dropped the phone to my lap. The pain in my finger was pounding and my fluffy socks were drenched with hot tea. With shaking hands, I dialed Louis' number who picked up after two rings. "Claire?" he sounded surprised and I didn't blame him. The last time we had talked had been three weeks ago on the beach. "Lou, I..." I began, before I started to sob again. "Claire, what's going on?" He sounded concerned and that made me cry even harder. 

"It's my dad's birthday and I just broke my favourite mug and cut my finger and Harry didn't answer his phone and I..." My throat was closing up and I knew that I was getting a panic attack.I didn't even have to finish the sentence before Louis interrupted me. "I'll be there in five minutes, love, stay strong for, alright?" Before he could hang up on me I let out a shaky breath. "I think I'm having a panic attack, I can't breathe, I-" Louis' calming voice sounded through the speaker. "Claire, I'm still here, alright? I'm here. Just breathe with me." I tried my best and tried to breathe in and out to his count while I heard a door close in the background. 

"Okay, here's what you're gonna do, love. You're gonna hang up on me and you're gonna call Zayn." When I started to protest, he interrupted me. "Yes, please. I can't keep talking to you if I want to be at your flat as soon as I can and Zayn is brilliant at this, okay? I'll be there as soon as I can, love. Hold on for me." He hung up on me and after a moment of hesitation, I dialed Zayn's number. It rung a couple of times and I prayed that he was already awake while trying to control my breathing somehow. "Hello?" Zayn's strong Bradford accent sounded through the speaker and I let out a shaky breath, before I replied. "Hi, um, this is Claire. Harry's and Louis' friend? I am so sorry for calling you but Louis said I should call you because I am having a panic attack and I don't know what to do and it just hurts, I'm so sorry, I-" I started to ramble, while hot tears were still streaming down my cheeks.

"Hey, no need to apologise, luv, I'm here for you just like I promised you. Okay, I want you to take a few deep breaths with me,alright? In and out, in and out." I tried to focus on his voice, but it wasn't helping as much as I had hoped for. "Alright, you're doing well. Now, I want you to imagine a safe, calm and happy situation. Can you do that for me?" he asked me and I nodded, for a moment forgetting that he couldn't see me. I imagined myself in my bed with Harry's strong arms wrapped around my waist and tried to focus on my breath. "Try to concentrate on whatever makes you feel safe and protected and now allow the upsetting thoughts in your head. Don't push them away, just allow them to sort of pass by while you watch them from your safe place." Zayn's calming voice guided me through my panic attack and after a couple of minutes, my breathing had returned to normal. 

"Are you feeling a bit better, luv?" he asked me and I let out a shaky breath, before I replied. "Yes, thank you so much for helping me. I know it's been months since we talked and I am so sorry for calling you out of the blue, but Harry didn't answer his phone and Louis had to hang up to get here." I apologised and was suddenly very embarrassed to have called him so suddenly with a situation like this after only having talked to him once. "I already told you, it's no problem whatsoever, alright? I know exactly what it feels like to have a panic attack and I really don't mind helping others." he assured me and I could hear a female voice in the background asking him something. "Sorry, luv, just one second."

There was a shuffling sound at the other end I could quietly hear Zayn explain to someone who he was talking to. "Sorry, about that. Gigi was wondering who I was talking to." He chuckled. Behind me I could hear a knock at the door and I slowly got up, Zayn still on the phone. "I think Louis is here." I said cautiously readjusted the towel around my finger, before I made my way towards the front door. "Oh, I'll let you go then. But, Claire, you can call me any time, alright?" he asked me, the urgency evident in his voice. "Thank you, Zayn, the same goes for you." I replied before we both hung up and I opened the door.

When Louis saw me in my pyjama with my tear-stained cheeks and the kitchen towel wrapped around my finger, the first thing he did was pull me into a tight hug which made me cry again. "Shhh love, I'm here. I'm here for you." He carefully closed the door with his foot while his hands stroked my back and my hair. "I'm so sorry for calling you." I mumbled into his chest and he slightly pulled away to force me to look at him. "Claire, I know we broke up, but you are still one of my best friends and you can call me ANY time, alright?" I nodded and he smiled down at me, but his eyes looked still concerned. "Alright, let's clean you up and then I'll clean up the mug and the tea in the kitchen, alright?" he asked me and I nodded and wiped my eyes with my hands. 

Louis gently took my uninjured hand and led me into my bathroom where he made me sit on the toilet seat while he looked through our first-aid kit. When he had found what he needed, he carefully took the towel of my finger which was still bleeding a little bit. I hissed when he sprayed an anti-septic spray onto my finger and he sent me an apologetic look before he wrapped it up with a bandage. He pressed a light kiss to my finger before letting it go and shot me a small smile, while storing the first-aid kit back underneath the sink. "All wrapped up." We smiled at each other, before I looked into the mirror. 

"Shit, I look horrendous!" I hastily got up and splashed some clod water into my face. "How about I'll bring you a new set of clothes and then we'll have a cuppa tea and you tell me what's been happening in your life during the past few weeks? And if you want to you can tell me about your dad, as well." he suggested with a warm smile and when I nodded he turned around and walked towards the bathroom door. "Louis?" I called out and he turned around in the doorway. "Thank you for coming." He smiled at me and nodded. "Any time, love. That's what friends are for, right?" 

When Louis had safely made both of us a cuppa tea, we sat down on the sofa and he pulled me into his side, my head resting on his shoulder. "Again, thank you for being here for me." I thanked him quietly and took a long sip from my tea. Louis chuckled next to me. "If you thank me one more time I might spill some tea on you." I sat up and shot him an indignant look and he pinched my cheek and then laughed at my face. "Did you really just pinch my cheek?" I asked him seriously and he nodded with a wide smirk. "Why did I call you again?" I wondered loudly and rested my head back on his shoulder. "Because you were having a shitty day and thought you need some Tommo to cheer you up?" he asked back and I chuckled and slightly shook my head. "In your dreams, Tomlinson."

We spent the next half an hour telling each other what we had been up to since we had parted ways at the beach. The conversation flowed easily, making me realise just how much I had missed Louis. "I really missed talking to you." I admitted quietly. As a response, he put his arm around me and pulled me into his side. "I missed talking to you, too, love." I smiled and then leaned forward to put my empty mug on the coffee table. I leaned back into him, before I spoke up again. "Thank you for your letter. It really meant a lot to me." I thanked him quietly and I felt him take a deep breath underneath me. "Did, you, um, did you think about what I wrote?" he asked hesitantly, unable to hide the curiosity in his voice. 

I thought for a couple of seconds, before I decided to tell him the truth. "I'm, eh, we... Harry and I kissed on Sunday." There was a long silence and I didn't dare to look up at Louis. "Do you like him?" he asked after a couple of seconds, his tone indifferent. "I do." I admitted quietly, my cheeks heating up. Louis was silent for a couple of seconds. "I hope it all works out for you two." he then said quietly and pressed a kiss to my hair. I let out a deep breath, which I didn't know I had been holding, and reached over to squeeze his hand. "I'm sorry that we didn't work out, Lou. I'm sure you'll find someone absolutely amazing who will love you back the way you deserve to be loved." He gave my hand a light squeeze back before he replied. "Thanks, love, I hope so, too."

Suddenly, I heard the door bell ring, making both of us jump. I untangled myself from Louis and made my way to the front door. When I opened it, a worried Harry was standing in the doorway. "Hi, are you okay? You called, but I was having the photo shoot and then you didn't return my calls and I got worried." He run a hand through his curls and his frown deepened when he saw the bandage around my finger. "Shit, what happened to you?" I stepped aside and he walked into the flat, where he instantly examined me to make sure that the rest of my body was fine. "Hey, calm down, I'm fine. I had a shitty morning because it would have been my dad's birthday, but after you didn't answer my call I called Louis and he took care of me." I gave his hand a light squeeze and he turned his head towards the living room where Louis had just appeared.

"Hey mate." He walked over to us and he and Harry did one of these manly hugs, before Harry's eyes wandered back to me and he shot me a questioning look. "I know about you two." Louis answered his silent question and Harry's eyes widened. "As long as you don't parade it in front of me for another couple of months, I'm okay with it." Louis said with a small smile, which didn't quite reach his eyes. Harry must have noticed that as well, because he took a step towards Louis and pulled him into a hug, this time a real one. "Thank you." he said sincerely and Louis hugged him back just as tightly, before they pulled away. "Just take good care of her and don't screw this up." Louis said in a serious tone and Harry looked back over to me with a fond smile. "Don't worry, I won't." 

After Harry had taken his coat and boots off, he joined us in the living room and we decided to watch a film together to distract me. I ended up sitting next to Harry on the big sofa, while Louis slumped down in the arm chair next to us. We had made ourselves a large bag of popcorn because, according to Harry, you always needed a bag of popcorn when you watched a movie about food and Louis regularly threw some popcorn at us. "Oi, will you stop it already!" I spoke up after a piece of popcorn had landed in my cleavage, taking me at least a minute to fish it out to the amusement of Harry and, particularly Louis, who was howling with laughter in his arm chair.

"Looking for something, Claire?" he asked me with a wide grin and I took a pillow and threw it at him, grinning widely when I heard the satisfying 'flop' when it hit its target. Ignoring Louis' protest, I focused my attention back on Remy and Linguini who were trying to save a soup on screen. "You're no fun. Maybe it's a good thing we broke up. Harry doesn't really have a sense of humour either." he smirked at us. Harry looked very offended. "My jokes are funny!" he protested and I patted his leg to calm him down. "They are funny, aren't they, Claire?" Harry looked down at me with his green eyes widened and instead of replying I started giggling. "Some of them are pretty good, yes." I admitted and he looked satisfied for a moment, before a frown appeared on his face. "What do you mean SOME of them?" 

Next to us, Louis nearly fell out of his chair. "Oh this is brilliant." he giggled and stuffed another hand of popcorn into his mouth. Harry shot him a glare, before bringing his attention back to me. The film, which was still playing in the background, was long forgotten. "Well, I find a lot of them very funny, but some of them are just really bad dad jokes, Harry, I'm sorry. The only people who laugh at those are either fans who are really in love you or people who have a very weird sense of humour." He pulled his arm away from behind my head and crossed his arms in front of his chest, an adorable pout on his face. Louis snickered and then looked back at the screen. 

I, on the other hand, leaned over to Harry who didn't look at me, but kept leaning away from me, making us both fall onto our sides. Laughing, we sat back up and I looked over at Louis who shook his head at us, before he looked away again. This time, when I leaned in, Harry didn't turn his head away, so I pressed a light kiss just underneath his jaw. "Don't be mad. I will still laugh at your jokes. And I really like the cow one." I whispered into his ear and noticed with a bit of satisfaction that goosebumps had appeared where my lips had just been seconds ago. Harry turned his head to me, a proud look on his face. "I came up with the cow joke myself." he whispered back quietly and gave me a happy smile, before pulling me into his chest again, the three of us enjoying the rest of the movie without any further interruptions.


	87. Guilt Or How I Have The Styles Charm

Harry's POV

The film had just finished and we were chatting a bit, when Claire got up to use the bathroom and promised to make us all a cuppa tea on her way back. "Don't forget to wash your hands." Louis called after her and she flipped him off before disappearing into the bathroom. I waited until I heard the bathroom door close behind her, before I turned around to face Louis. "So, how do you really feel about me and Claire?" I asked him quietly and he looked up from his phone. "You can be honest with me, mate, I know that you're not as okay with it as you pretend to be in front of her." He locked his phone and shoved it back into his pocket before his eyes met mine again.

"I love her, Harry, I really do. But her and I were never meant to work out, it has always been you since the start. I just kind of tried to ignore that." His voice broke at the end of the sentence and he avoided my gaze. I felt my heart break for my best mate. The guilt had been eating me up for months and it had only gotten worse since Claire and I had kissed a couple of days ago. "It hurts." Louis admitted and finally met my gaze again. "But you're my best mate and as much as I am upset about you and Claire, I'm also not not happy for you two. You're both way too good for this world anyway and I have seen the way you look at her, Harry. I would never try to take that away from you." He gave me a weak smile which didn't quite reach his eyes.

"The guilt has been eating me up for months." I admitted quietly and a look of surprise appeared on his face. "Guilt? Why the bloody hell would you feel guilty, mate?" he asked me bewildered. A bit confused, I looked over to him. Was he being serious right now? "I fell in love with your girlfriend, Lou! I took your girlfriend from you! I am the worst best friend in the world!" I exclaimed and then quickly lowered my voice when I realised how loud I had become. "That's bullshit, Harry, and you know it." Louis replied and gave me one of his 'Don't talk shit to me' looks which he had perfected over the years since I had met him.

"I am the one who needs to feel guilty, not you." he started off and I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his hand, so I shut it again. You just didn't interrupt Louis when he gave you that look. "I was the one acting like a selfish prick. I felt the connection between the two of you since the start and I still went for her. I knew that I would probably eventually fall in love with her when she fell into me on the Tube that day. Those green eyes didn't leave my mind the whole day and then she suddenly greeted us at the hotel when we had the meeting and didn't take any shit from me and I had never wanted to get to know someone so badly. But I have also known you for years and I knew you were just as smitten with her as I was. After El I was so desperate for love and affection and she was there and she was... perfect, you know? So I tried to ignore the guilt I felt towards you and made a move on her and she seemed to like me, too."

Louis was quiet for a couple of seconds and seemed to be lost in thought. I didn't dare to interrupt him, so I just watched quietly and after a moment he continued. "I never meant to tell her that I was in love with her, it just slipped out of my mouth and I couldn't exactly take these words back. I knew that she wasn't in love with me, but a tiny part was still hoping for her to say it back one day. If I hadn't said it that day, I probably would have waited until I was absolutely sure that there was nothing but friendship going on between the two of you." he explained and looked over to the hallway where we could hear Claire in the kitchen. "I knew that you two had something special and I still went for her and that, my friend, makes me the worst best friend in the world." he finished off his speech and leaned back into his arm chair, his blue eyes watching me intently.

There was a short silence, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of Claire making tea in the kitchen which floated into the room through the nearly closed door. "Lou?" I asked after a couple of seconds and he raised an eyebrow in response. "Please don't feel guilty for falling in love with her. Never ever feel guilty for being a little bit selfish sometimes if that's what makes you truly happy. Even if it means going for someone your friend potentially likes." A small smile appeared on his face and he shook his head. 

"Why do you always have to be so fucking noble and forgiving all the bloody time? No wonder that all the girls fall for the Styles charm." He threw a pillow at my head which I only managed to dodge in the very last second, before we both burst out laughing. "Are we alright?" I asked him hesitantly when we heard Claire's steps approaching the living room and he nodded and pulled a weird face at me. "Just don't screw this up." he said quietly, just as Claire entered the living room again with three cups of tea in her hands. But his warning was unnecessary. I knew that I would do anything to keep this extraordinary woman happily at my side.


	88. Let It Be Or How It's Okay Not To Be Okay

The day had passed by in a blur of happiness, good conversations and distractions, but every day needs to come to an end at some point. Louis had already left about an hour ago with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek and Harry was in the kitchen cooking us some dinner, after making me a hot chocolate and making me promise to relax for a bit while he was preparing the food. For this reason, I sitting on our sofa, my knees pulled up to my chest, with a fuzzy blanket wrapped around me. It wasn't really cold in the flat, but I needed a feeling of protection and the blanket seemed to provide that to me in that moment. The problem with relaxing was that my mind had the time to think about all the things that I had so desperately been pushing away during the day. 

Outside, the rain was pouring down and inside on the sofa I felt that my eyes were about to let the tears flow, as well, so I bit my lip and tried to push the feeling of overwhelming sadness to the back of my mind. I had been concentrating so hard on trying not to cry, that I hadn't noticed Harry who had entered the room again, two big bowls of steaming soup in his big hands. I also didn't notice the worried look on his face, when he spotted me on the sofa and carefully placed the bowls on the table. Indeed, I only noticed him when he crouched down in front of me and carefully took my hands into his. I jumped a bit and turned my head, my green eyes meeting his.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked me quietly, his thumb gently caressing the back of my hand. I blinked and took a deep breath, before I nodded. "I'm fine." I managed to squeak out, but we both knew that I really wasn't. "It's okay not be okay, sometimes. It's okay to grieve, love. No one expects you to be happy all the time." He assured me and gave my hands a light squeeze. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked me and I shrugged, then nodded and then shrugged again. Harry, however, seemed to have understood what I was trying to say, climbed next to me onto the sofa and pulled me onto his lap, holding me like a little child while lightly swaying me back and forth. Hot tears silently made their way down my cheeks and wet the fabric of Harry's shirt. His deep voice whispered soothing words into my ear while he let me grieve for one of the most important people I had lost way too soon.

After a couple of minutes, the tears stopped and the only thing that could be heard was our breathing and the sound of the rain hitting the window, my head resting against Harry's chest, falling and rising with every breath he took. "He used to teach me how to play the guitar when I was younger. We would sit together on the porch facing the sea, or in our living room when it was too cold to be outside, and he would teach me all the songs that he loved listening to and playing when he was growing up. He always had a particular love for the sixties and worshiped The Beatles so the first song that I learned was 'Let It Be' which essentially became the soundtrack of my life. When I was about fourteen, he could no longer play the guitar anymore, so we would just sit together and I would play him any song he liked. I used to spent hours in my room practicing his favourite songs when he was at doctor's appointments so that I could play them for him when he got home to cheer him up."

I smiled at the memories and it took me a couple of seconds, before I could continue, but Harry didn't seem to mind. He just let me talk and listened to my stories, while providing the warmth and safety which I so desperately needed in that moment. "He also taught me, more than any other person -perhaps with the exception of my mum- to respect everyone I ever met, no matter if they were sitting behind the check out at the supermarket, or were a big CEO of a successful firm. Because he said, in the end, it doesn't matter how much money you make or how big your house is, if it doesn't fulfill you and makes you happy. And he was the one who has always supported my decision to study politics because he knew that this was what I needed to change the world in my way, one little step at the time. I just wish..." I took a deep breath and I felt Harry press a light kiss to my hair, before I continued. "I just wish, I could have one more conversation with him, you know? I miss him so much, Harry. It hurts so badly. And I know that he wouldn't want me to sit here on your lap and cry, but sometimes I can't be strong, not even for him." 

I felt Harry shift underneath me and he pulled away a little bit, so that he could face me. "Claire, if there is one thing I can know for sure, it's how proud your dad would be of you." He smiled down at me and one of his dimples appeared, automatically making me smile, as well. "I have said it before and I am happy to say it again: You are one of the strongest and most humble people I have ever met. And you can be so proud of yourself for handling everything that life keeps throwing at you the way you do. It's okay to cry, but it's also okay to be happy and sometimes, you feel a little bit of both." He gave me a weak smile and the light in his eyes momentarily seemed flicker a bit, before he continued.

"I couldn't say goodbye to my granddad before he passed away. The last time I saw him was at Christmas and my last memory of him is him standing in the door with my grandma by his side, waving us goodbye as we pull out of their driveway. Because of what I do, I didn't spent an awful lot of time with the people I love during the past few years which is why I am enjoying this break so much. And there isn't one day that goes by where I wonder if I could have spent more time with my family, if I hadn't been in One Direction and just gone to uni, but that's not how life works. You can't have everything in life, you sometimes have to make sacrifices to find true happiness. I know that you feel bad for not spending a lot of time at home either, because you had to work and study so much to live your dream here in London. But that's what your dad wanted for you. He wanted you to go out there and live your dream and he would be so proud of you if he knew that you most likely will be graduating with top marks in a couple of weeks, despite the fact that you lost him."

His whole demeanour was serious and he had a sincerity in his tone unmatched by anything I had heard him say before. "If you feel guilty your for the rest of your life it will destroy you, Claire." His voice broke at the end of the sentence, and I suddenly got the feeling that we were no longer only talking about me. After a moment, I slowly lifted a hand and gently cupped his cheek, trying to take a little bit of the pain away that was evident in his eyes. "We're both a bit broken inside, aren't we?" I asked with a dry chuckle, and I saw the corners of his lips twitch a bit. "If you really believe everything you just told me, then you have as little reason to feel guilty about spending so little time with your family as I have, alright?" I told him in a serious tone and after a couple of seconds he nodded. "You don't have to be the strong one all the time, Harry. As a wise person told me not that long ago: 'It's okay not to be okay'." This time the smile which appeared on his face also reached his eyes and when I returned it, he leaned in, his lips meeting mine, telling me all the things he couldn't say in that moment.


	89. Whoops Or Group Hugs

The next few days went by in a blur of work and surprisingly a lot of happiness. My dissertation had been accepted and would now be marked within the next month and I was just happy that all of my hard-work was over, at least for now. After the summer I would most likely start my Master's degree and then try to find a job next year. But right now, I could taste the freedom that was lying in front of me, a hole summer filled with only working for the hotel and maybe doing some charity work and travelling. No more essays, no more lectures and no more tutors who thought they knew everything better. The feeling was indescribable. 

I was lying in my bed in the early hours of the morning, with a sleeping Harry lying next to me. His long hair was spread across the pillow and I tried to savour this moment because his long hair would be gone in a matter of hours. I wasn't sure who would miss his hair more, he or the rest of the world, but I was so proud of him for cutting it all of for the movie and donating it to charity. It was such a Harry thing to do and I was secretly already looking forward to the reaction of the rest of the fandom who didn't have a clue what they were in for. The photo shoot and the whole magazine article had been kept secret and wouldn't be released for another couple of months. I had already gotten a glimpse at the photos from last week and I knew that it would become one of these iconic magazine photo shoots which would be remembered for a very long time.

My alarm went off and Harry let out a groan and opened his eyes, sleepily blinking a couple of times, while his eyes adjusted to the brightness in the room. I reached over and turned the alarm off, before I rolled back over onto my side to face Harry who was now looking at me with a light smile on his lips. "Morning, love." He leaned over and pecked my lips, a smile appearing on my face, as well. "Morning." We smiled at each other for a couple of seconds, before he let himself fall back into the pillows, making me laugh. "Ready for your big day?" I asked him and lightly poked his side which made him squirm and squeak like a little kid. He glared at me while I laughed at his reaction and almost automatically lifted his hand to run it through his messy curls.

"I'm not sure, to be completely sure, to be honest with you. I know I shouldn't be that nervous, I mean, it's just hair, isn't it?" he asked me and I saw a hint of embarrassment in his green eyes. "It's perfectly fine to be nervous, Harry. I mean, your hair is a very big part of who you are and you haven't had it short in such a long time, but I am sure you'll get used to the short hair very soon and...", I leaned over and pressed a kiss just right below his ear, "I'm sure you will look just as handsome with short hair as you do now." I whispered into his ear. When I tried to pull away, his strong arms held me in placed and he was now grinning up at me. "So you think I am handsome, hm?" he asked with a playful twinkle in his eyes and I grinned back at him just as widely. "Well, I can assure you that I don't just allow anyone to sleep in this bed with me." I joked and his grin widened, if that was even possible, before he gave my waist a light squeeze making me squeak and squirm in his grip. "Payback is a bitch." he whispered, a wide smirk on his face, before his lips met mine.

After we had gotten dressed eaten some breakfast, Harry drove us to the hair salon where he would get his hair cut. The whole drive he tried to chat to me about random things, acting as if he was totally fine, but his constantly bouncing leg gave him away. When we pulled into the parking lot, I already saw his mum and Gemma getting out of one of the cars. They had wanted to come along because they knew what a big moment this was for Harry. It wasn't just about getting a hair cut. It was a symbolic step from being 'Harry from One Direction' to 'Harry Styles the actor and musician' and I knew how grateful he was for their presence.

Before we got out of the car, I placed a hand on Harry's nervously bouncing leg which made him look over to me. "Hey, I'm here for you, alright? Your mum and sister are here, too, and you will be perfectly fine." He gave me a small smile and put his big hand over my small one, giving it a light squeeze. "Thank you." he thanked me quietly and I pressed a light kiss to his cheek, before opening the door. Anne and Gemma greeted us excitedly and immediately pulled Harry into a group hug, while I stood next to them with a wide smile on my face. 

"Oh, come over here, love!" Anne waved me over and I hesitantly took a step closer to them, before she pulled me into their group hug, as well. "I'm getting a little bit squished in here." Harry's muffled voice came somewhere from the middle of our hug and we all laughed and let go off him. Almost automatically, Harry reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers as we made our way to the door. "I'm so glad you two finally found each other." Anne gushed immediately and I felt my cheeks heat up. When I looked up at Harry, I saw that he, too, had a hint of colour on his cheeks. 

"Harry called me on Monday." Anne explained when she saw my face and Gemma leaned over to pinch his cheek, making me laugh and Harry glare. I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, while silently wondering what exactly we were at the moment. Were we dating? Friends who occasionally kissed? Boyfriend and girlfriend? I was incredibly happy to have him and didn't mind that we hadn't put a label on it, but Anne's comment had made me realise that people would most likely expect us to put a label on it very soon. Taking a deep breath, I pushed these thoughts to the back of my mind and focused my attention back on Harry.

The owner of the salon was a famous hairstylist and warmly welcomed us to the completely empty salon. They had arranged it to be just Harry who was coming in this morning and a photographer was present as well, who would take some photos for the magazine. After one last photo with his long curly hair, Harry took a seat in front of one of the mirrors, and Anne volunteered to braid his hair for him. The three of us were standing behind him, as the scissors did their work at the back of his head. His eyes caught mine and I smiled at him, his lips momentarily pulling into a small smile, as well, before he went back to biting it. 

"Well, it definitely feels a lot lighter." he joked and shook his now shorter curls, making everyone present laugh. "Oh, can someone take a photo of me holding my hair?" Harry said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and stood up. "The fans will go nuts when that's all they get for another couple of weeks." he said with a smirk and Anne shook his head at his childish behaviour. "Still the joker, hm?" Gemma commented, but she seemed to like the idea, as well. "Everyone will hate you." I giggled and Harry sent me a satisfied smirk, before he posted the photo on instagram. 

When I saw the caption, I burst out laughing. "You... you captioned it 'Whoops.'?" I managed to say in between laughing. "Oh, they will be so mad at you, I can't wait." He sent me a big grin, obviously very proud of himself, and then started to unbutton his shirt, making my eyes go wide. When he caught my eyes, he winked at me and then added "It's for the photo shoot, love." I gulped and nodded, desperately trying to avoid the amused looks of Anne and Gemma, who were watching our exchange. "Alright, ready to get to work?" Harry nodded and sat down again, while the three of us, got comfortable around him. "Let's do this."

**********

To say that Harry looked different with his new hair cut was an understatement. We were at his house, lazily lying on his sofa together, after a nice lunch with Anne and Gemma who had decided to spent the afternoon going shopping. They had invited me, as well, but Harry had used his best pout and puppy eyes, so I gave in and decided to spent the rest of the afternoon with him, however not before I had agreed to go out for a girls day with Anne and Gemma in the near future. 

We were lying together on his sofa and Harry's fingers were drawing lazy patterns on my back, while my head was resting on his chest. "You're very quiet, are you alright?" he asked quietly and I felt him press a light kiss to my hair. Humming, I lifted my head and looked at him, his now short curls sticking into every possible direction, but he still reminded me of someone and I bit my lip to keep the grin from appearing on my face.

Apparently I was doing a terrible job at hiding my amusement, because a frown appeared on Harry's face while he was trying to figure out the source of my amusement. "What are you grinning at?" he asked me and pushed a lose strand out of my face, watching me intently. "You remind me of a young Mick Jagger and, even though I am sure that this was somewhat your intention, it's kinda weird." I giggled and shifted my weight onto one hand, using the other one to run my fingers through his hair. "Don't worry, it'll only be for a week or so, before it's gonna get really short. A proper British soldier WWII haircut." I chuckled at his description and leaned in for a kiss which he gladly returned. 

After we had pulled apart, I rested my head back on his chest, just enjoying the rising and falling sensation of his body underneath mine, our hearts beating in sync. "When do you have to leave for the film?" I asked him after a short silence and I felt him sigh underneath me. "Next week, about a week before your birthday." he replied, sadness but at the same time excitement in his voice. "I am so proud of you for being in that movie with these amazing people, but I will miss you so much." I admitted quietly. 

I had gotten so used to Harry's constant present in my life that it would be weird not to have him around. But this was something I would have to get used to because I would never want to keep Harry from pursuing his dreams and touring and making movies were definitely very big parts of his life. His strong arms wrapped themselves tightly around my much smaller body and he pressed another kiss to my head. "I will miss you, too, love. But after uni is officially over you can visit me any time, alright? And I will try to come up for your birthday, I promise. I will do everything I can." Not able to reply, I instead returned the hug just as tightly. 

The next week and a half past in a blink of an eye and suddenly it was the day of Harry's departure. He would spent the months mainly on different sets in the Netherlands and France and the south of England before he would fly over to Los Angeles and I wasn't sure how often I would see him during that time. Because Harry didn't want to be recognised or mobbed at the airport, we had decided to say goodbye at my flat, which turned out to be a bad idea, as well. I did my best not to cry and I could see that he was fighting tears as well. "I will miss you, love." he said quietly. I gulped and blinked a few tears away, before I managed a hoarse "I will miss you, too." He gently cupped my face with his hands and this time I couldn't stop a tear from rolling down my cheek, which Harry gently wiped away with his thumb. "I have one last question for you before I go." he suddenly said very seriously and I felt my heart beat pick up.

He took a deep breath and his green eyes seemed to hold mine in place with his intense gaze. "Will you do me the great honour of being my girlfriend?" he asked and I could have sworn that my heart just exploded in my chest. "I would love to be your girlfriend." I sniffed and let out something which sounded like a weird mixture between laugh and a sob. The happiness on Harry's face seemed to light up his whole face and I felt my heart swell with happiness in my chest, as I took in the impact of my answer. I was now Harry Styles' girlfriend. Me, Claire Winters. Without any hesitation, his smooth, pink lips met mine and both of us seemed to put a lot of feelings into this kiss, making it one of the best ones we had shared so far. 

"God, we act like one of these couples from a romcom, who are so incredibly cheesy that you sometimes want to scream at your screen." I chuckled, making Harry laugh. "If I get another kiss like that, I'll gladly be one of these couples." he replied with a smirk and pressed another chased kiss to my lips, before he pulled away. "I will see you soon, love. Take care of yourself and let others take care of you, alright?" he asked me seriously and I nodded, angrily wiping my tear stained cheeks with my shirt sleeve. After one final, bittersweet kiss, he climbed into his car and with one last look in my direction he drove away to the airport, leaving me standing on the pavement in front of my building on my own. For some reason my heart suddenly felt like a little piece of it was missing.

Back in the flat, I tried to distract myself, but it wasn't really working very well so I picked up the phone. Lily wouldn't be home for another few hours and I needed someone as soon as possible, preferably now. I didn't even have to open my contacts before I dialed the number, having memorised over the last few months. He picked up after a few rings and I felt my face spreading into a wide smile when I heart his voice over the phone. "So you're only calling me when Harry's not available?" he asked teasingly as a greeting and I felt a little guilty and instantly tried to assure him that this wasn't the case. "No, it's just, um, it was a little bit awkward after, well, the beach, and you know I wanted to give you space..." I stuttered into the phone and felt my cheeks heat up. At the other end of the line, Louis chuckled. "I'm only messing with you, love, I know that you didn't ignore me on purpose." I let out a sigh of relief and relaxed against the comfy pillows on my sofa. 

"Any particular reason why you called me?" Louis asked after a couple of seconds, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "Yes, I actually did have a reason." I laughed and he joined in, as well. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out and do something together?" I asked him and readjusted the phone between my ear and my shoulder, while I slid down into a lying position, pushing a pillow underneath my head with one of my hands. Multitasking had never been my best quality and the phone promptly fell onto the floor with a loud thud. I cursed loudly and picked up my phone form the floor, nearly falling off the sofa in the process. 

"Shit, are you alright?" I asked him breathlessly through the phone and hoped that his ear was still in tact. "I think my ear doesn't like you very much anymore, but I could ask you the same question. What did you do to drop your phone?" I could hear the laughter in his voice and was suddenly really glad that he hadn't seen me fall down because I wouldn't have heard the end of that for weeks. "I, um, failed at multitasking." I explained cautiously and Louis howled with laughter. 

I patiently waited until he had calmed down before I repeated my question from earlier. "So, are you free to hang out?" I asked him and crossed my fingers, hoping that he would say yes. "Of course, I'm free, love. Fancy maybe writing some music together? Or I could beat you at Fifa again?" I fake-coughed at the second suggestion, but then quickly agreed to meet him at his house in twenty minutes. "Excellent, I'm looking forward to seeing you then! Cya in a bit!" he said before hanging up on me. Shaking my head at his sudden goodbye, I got up with a loud sigh and walked over to my bedroom to collect my things, before I set off for Louis house.


	90. Songwriting Or How I Was Left Speechless

Louis' POV: 

I was nervous. Way too nervous for someone who was only hanging out with his ex-girlfriend who he was desperately trying not to lose in his life. Pacing up and down my hallway, I checked my watch again and noticed that she was about to arrive an minute now. As if that had been her cue, the door bell rang and with three big steps I was in front of it and yanked it open. It had only been a couple of days since I had last seen her, but during that time I had focused more on how I could help her and make her feel better and then Harry had appeared, so I had kept my distance.

My eyes wandered up her body and I felt my lips pull into a wide smile when my eyes met hers. "Hi, love, come on in." I greeted her cheerfully and opened the door for her. She instantly stepped into the hallway and I quietly closed the door behind her. Noticing her helpless glance around, I took her bag and her guitar out of her hands and carefully placed them on the floor, before pulling her into a tight hug. "Hi." she said into my chest, her voice sounded a bit muffled against the fabric of my top. I pulled away a little bit and grinned down at her. "It's good to see you, love." She returned the grin and pressed a light kiss to my cheek before taking a step back and starting to undo the shoelaces of her chucks. She smiled up at me and I felt my stomach churn a little bit. "Stop it, Louis, you had your chance and you blew it. She's Harry's now and you need to move on." I scolded myself. But why did she had to make it so difficult?

"It's really good to see you, too, Lou. I missed hanging out with you." She slipped out of her chucks and naturally made her way into the kitchen, me hot on her heels. When she noticed my amused smile she paused at the sink, a glass of water already in her hand, and turned around. Her cheeks turned red, making my smile even bigger. "Sorry." she immediately apologised and I shook my head and walked over to the fridge to help myself to a coke. "No need to apologise, love, make yourself at home." I teased her and she stuck out her tongue at me in response. "Very mature, Claire." I raised an eyebrow at her and she dramatically flipped her long hair over her shoulder and took a big sip from her water.

"So, what would you like to do, love?" I asked her and lazily leaned against the kitchen counter, as I watched her eyes wander around the kitchen. "Maybe we could see if we come up with a good tune and then I'll beat you at Fifa?" she suggested, a smirk appearing on her face towards the end of the sentence, making me chuckle. "I think you meant to say that I will be at you at Fifa, but sure, why not? I have been wondering how it would be to work with you ever since Ed told me about your little writing session." I told her honestly and grinned when her cheeks turned red once again. "He told you about that, eh?" she asked and I nodded with a small smile on my face. She was trying very well to hide her excitement, but I knew her well enough to know that she was secretly freaking out inside.

Picking up her guitar and her bag, I beckoned her to follow me to my living room where I carefully placed her stuff on the sofa, before sitting down myself. I patted the spot next to me and after a moment of hesitation, she finally sat down. "Soooo..." I gave her an expectant glance and she raised an eyebrow at me and shot me a questioning look. "Any ideas?" I asked her and she reached over me towards her bag and nearly fell face down into my lap in the process. When she emerged, her face was bright red and I had to bite my lips to keep myself from laughing. "Sorry." she mumbled and started to rummage in her bag for something. A couple of seconds later she let out a triumphant "Ha!" , a small notebook in her hand. "I had this idea a couple of days ago. It's, um, it's about losing someone and how it can make you stronger if that makes sense?" She didn't meet my eyes and instead pushed the note book into my hands.

Carefully, I picked it up and read the words and chords scribbled onto the two pages. When I looked up, I saw Claire anxiously watching me, her hands grasped tightly together in her lap. "This is bloody amazing, love. Would you mind playing for me so we could add some bits and pieces here and there?" I asked her and she took a deep breath, before nodding in agreement. After she had tuned her guitar, she reached for her notebook and placed it on the table in front of her. With an uncertain look in my direction, she strummed her guitar once, before opening her mouth and starting to sing.

"Don't give up on me!" she ended her song and finally dared to look at me again. For the first time in a very long time, I was speechless. "I, um..." I tried to manage a coherent sentence, but failed miserably, so I shut my mouth again. "I know it's not very good, but you are an amazing songwriter, so I thought you could help me." Claire started to ramble and I leaned over and placed my finger on her mouth, effectively shutting her up. "This is one of the best songs I have heard in a while, love. Where did you hide this talent?" I asked her excitedly and her already red cheeks turned a shade darker. "You like it?" she asked cautiously and I laughed and shook my head. "I fucking love it, Claire!" I corrected her with a wide grin and saw her visibly relax next to me. 

"Alright, let's get to work. I think we could add some light percussion in the background and maybe a bass as well? And I thought that in the chorus instead of going down after 'you can', you could go up like this?" I suggested and sung my proposed change. She nodded excitedly and added a small note above the lyrics. "Thank you so much for helping me with this, Lou. Are you currently working on any solo stuff, by the way? Maybe a solo album?" she asked me, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity. I run my hand through my hair and nodded. "I have been working on some stuff, why?" A small grin spread in her face. "Would you like to add this to your album?" she asked me and gestured to the notebook in her lap. 

I immediately protested. "No, no, no, no! This song is your song and I couldn't possibly take this away from you and use it in my album, love." Her face fell and I instantly regretted my decision. "Look, let's be realistic here. I will never sing in front of a crowd or record an album myself, Louis, because that's just not who I am. But you? You have everything in you that it takes to be a brilliant solo artist and I wouldn't have offered this song to you, if I didn't want you to have it." she explained seriously and after a couple of seconds under her intense gaze, I gave in. "Alright, fine. But only if I am allowed to credit you as a songwriter." I agreed and she nodded and gave me a wide smile. "Great, now let's make this song perfect for you!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, making me laugh. What did I ever do to deserve someone like Claire in my life?


	91. Text Messages Or Flower Bouquets

It was the day before my birthday and I was desperately waiting for a reply from Harry. He had texted me late last night saying that he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it for my birthday and that he would talk to the director in the morning to see if he could get tomorrow and the day after my birthday off. My fingers were drumming a rhythmic pattern on the surface of the kitchen table and my eyes were roaming the kitchen on the search for something to distract me with. When my phone rang, I jumped and immediately answered the phone without looking at the caller id. For the first time in my life I was disappointed to hear my mother's voice at the other end of the line.

"Hi honey, how are you doing?" she chirped into the phone and despite my disappointment, I felt my lips tug into a small smile when I heard her voice. "Hi, mum, I'm fine. What about you? How is Sally?" I asked and as if she had heard me through the phone, I heard a loud bark in the background which made me laugh. "As you can hear she's doing very well and I am alright. Work is keeping me busy, but what can you do?" my mum chuckled and I smiled when I heard Sally bark again. "So, I was wondering what your plans for tomorrow were and if you maybe wanted to go out of lunch or something like that? I could drive down for a couple of hours and then be back to feed Sally later tomorrow night, if you like?" she suggested and by now I was widely grinning. "I would love to see you tomorrow, mum." I replied happily and we agreed that she would meet me at my flat around noon tomorrow, before she had to hang up because Sally was causing a mess in the living room.

The conversation with my mum had relaxed me and I decided to simply turn my phone's ringtone up and to do something productive instead, like doing my laundry for example. With a sigh, I walked into our bathroom and carried the full laundry box with both of our clothes into the kitchen where our washing machine was situated. Just as I had closed the door of the machine, my phone beeped, indicating that I had received a new message. I scurried over to the kitchen table and say that Harry had sent me a text.

"Dear Claire, I am so sorry, but I won't be able to make it home to London tomorrow. I asked Chris again this morning and after checking our schedule he said that it is impossible for me to go home tomorrow as we will be filming a very important scene for which I have to be present. I cannot tell you how bad I feel about this. Please enjoy your special day as much as you can and I promise I will come home for a day or two as soon as I can so that we can celebrate your birthday together. I will make it up to you, I promise. All the love, Harry xxx" My heart seemed to have dropped down to somewhere around my knees and I felt my eyes tearing up. Angrily, I wiped my eyed with my sleeve and replied with a simple "It's okay, C xxx". It wasn't okay and I was a hundred percent sure that Harry knew that, as well, but I also knew that this wasn't his fault so I didn't want to be angry at him. I was just... sad? Disappointed? 

I shoved my phone into my back pocket and started to clean and tidy up our flat, so that Lily and I didn't have to do anything tomorrow before the party. I had decided to only invite a handful of very close friends. Two of my friends from uni, Elouise and Milena, Ed Sheeran (my heart still skipped a beat when I thought about the fact that I was counting Ed to my group of close friends), the whole of One Direction -even though I hadn't seen Liam- in a while, Zayn and Gigi as a thank you for helping me with my panic attack,Lily, of course, and Leslie, Harry's friend, who I had talked to on the phone a couple of times during the past few weeks and who I had already baby sitted for once. It was going to be a very random group of people, but I was hoping that they all would get along well. I was a bit anxious about El's and Milena's reaction to Ed, Zayn and the whole of One Direction, as they hadn't met them yet. They had only recently found out that I even knew them, as I had tried to keep my relationship with the boys under wraps for as long as possible.

When Lily came home from uni, the whole flat was spotless, I had done all of our laundry and dinner was ready on the table. "I love you!" Lily called out as she walked into the kitchen and pulled me into a tight hug. "Did you spend your whole day cleaning?" she asked me and took a seat at the table. I joined her and pushed the bowl with mashed potatoes in her direction, while I helped myself to some carrots. "Maybe." I replied with a smile and she laughed and continued to pile food onto her plate. "Thank you so much for doing this! Uni was a nightmare today. Apparently they can't make up their minds about where we should do our summer placements and changed our hospitals AGAIN! I mean how the fuck am I supposed to plan anything this summer when I don't know where I'm gonna be working, hm?" She huffed and shoved a spoon full of food into her mouth. "This is delicious, thank you so much for cooking. I will do the dishes afterwards." she offered and I nodded and gave her thumbs up as my mouth was too full to say something. We enjoyed the rest of our meal and then spent the rest of the night watching Teen Wolf together, before we went to bed quite early in order to be fully rested for the next day. 

********************

I was woken up by Lily who was standing in front of my bed with a large breakfast tray. In the middle was a little cupcake with a birthday candle in the middle and a surprisingly big amount of food had been piled onto two plates. "Morning, birthday girl, scoot over, will you?" she grinned down at me and I eagerly slid over to the other side of the bed to make room for her and the tray. "Wow, this looks amazing, thank you so much!" I gave her a one-armed hug and she gave me a proud smile, before handing me a fork and a knife, ready to dig in. I reached over her to pick up my phone from my nightstand and turned it on.

Instantly, I received a couple of messages wishing me a happy birthday, making me smile widely at my phone. I put my playlist on shuffle and we ate in content silence while we listened to my favourite songs. The day couldn't have started anymore perfectly. We were interrupted by the door bell and after a egging look from Lily, I carefully climbed out of my bed and made my way to the front door. To my surprise, a delivery man stood in front of the door with a large bouquet of flowers in his arms. "Claire Winters?" he asked me and when I nodded he carefully handed the flowers over to me and disappeared with a quick smile in my direction, leaving me starring dumbfoundedly at the beautiful flowers in my hands. 

Still slightly in shock, I closed the door with one arm and carried the flowers into the kitchen where I put them into vase. A card fell out and I picked it up, before placing the flowers in the middle of our kitchen table. I immediately recognised Harry's handwriting when I opened the card and automatically smiled even before reading what he had written.

"Dear Claire,  
Happy Birthday! I hope you have the most amazing day filled with loads of love, joy and yummy food (I know how much you value food). I am so sorry that I won't be able to celebrate with you tonight, but I promise that I will make it up to you as best as I can. In case you're wondering how I have managed to send you the flowers and especially the card so quickly, here is the explanation. I had been planning to send you flowers for a couple of weeks now so I went to the local florist and ordered the bouquet and left them two cards. This morning I informed them which card they were supposed to send (I hope they actually sent the right one or this will be weird) and here they are. :) I am so grateful to have met you and to have such a fantastic woman by my side. You are everything I could ever ask for and I hope that this will be one of many birthdays that we will celebrate together.   
Always yours,   
Harry xxx"

I was standing in our kitchen with Harry's card in my shaking hands and wondered how the hell I deserved Harry Styles in my life. The amount of planning he had done to not only send me flowers on my birthday, but also to have the fitting card in case he didn't make it, made my heart beat loudly in my chest. My fingers traced the words 'always yours' and for some reason I felt like they had a deeper meaning that I hadn't quite figured out yet. Behind me I heard a noise and a couple of seconds later, Lily walked into the kitchen. "Hey, are you alright? Why are yo crying?" she asked me and instantly pulled me into a tight hug. Then her eyes fell onto the flowers on our kitchen table. "Wow, are these from Harry?" She let go of me and walked over to take a closer look. "They are beautiful, Claire!" she gushed and then spotted the card in my hands. "Is that from him?" I nodded and held it out for her to read. After a moment of hesitation, she took it and opened it. 

I watched her mouth form the words 'always yours, Harry' and when she looked up she, too, had tears in her eyes. "Awww, Claire, that's beautiful, he really cares about you, doesn't he?" Unable to reply, I only nodded and she handed the card back to me, before lightly pulling me back into my bed room. "Alright, no tears today! We'll finish the breakfast which I prepared for half an hour and then you'll take a shower and I will tidy up and get dressed as well, before your mum shows up in an hour, okay?" she asked me and I nodded and smiled at her, before continuing my breakfast, Infinity playing in the background.


	92. Fangirling Or How I Received The Best Birthday Present Ever

The lunch with my mum had been wonderful. I had had the chance to have an incredible conversation with her and she again tried to assure that it wasn't all my fault that Louis and I hadn't worked out. It was something I was still feeling guilty about, but she told me very sternly that I couldn't force myself to feel something and then quickly moved onto a lighter topic. Now it was nearly nine o'clock and I was dressed in a black, sparkly shift dress which ended just above my knee and covered me up very well, while at the same time enhancing my curves. Lily had helped me do my hair and make up and therefore created something which looked a thousand times better than anything I could have ever achieved.

The door bell rung and I nearly sprinted to the door as fast as my heels were carrying me. I opened the door and a widely grinning Niall was standing in front of me with a smirking Louis behind him. "Hi guys, come on in, come on in!" I greeted them cheerfully and ushered them into the flat. "Happy birthday, Claire!" Niall said with a wide grin and pulled me into a tight hug, lightly swaying me from one side to another until I stumbled and we both pulled away laughing. He handed me a neatly wrapped box and added with a wink. "Just in case you're wondering, I didn't wrap it myself. I can assure you that it wouldn't look so pretty if I did." I chuckled and thanked him, before I turned around to face Louis. 

He pulled me into a tight hug and I felt him press a light kiss to my hair. "Happy birthday, love." he said quietly into my ear and when we pulled away he, too, handed me a small box which looked like he had wrapped it himself. "I wrapped it myself." he said loud enough for Niall to hear him who was kissing Lily a few metres down the hallway. Niall responded by flipping him off, his lips not leaving Lily's in the process, making Louis laugh. "Ew, get a room." I commented dryly and Louis laughed and followed me into the kitchen where he helped himself to a drink. I picked up my cup fron the table and took a long sip from my own, feeling the familiar burning of the alcohol running down my throat.

The door bell rang again and with an apologetic look in Louis' direction, I downed the rest of my drink and walked back to the front door. My two friends from uni had arrived, El and Milena. "Happy birthday!" El squealed and pulled me into a tight hug, before handing me over to Milena who hugged me just as tightly, as well. "Thanks guys, come on in!" They both stepped into the flat and curiously looked around, obviously trying to figure out who had arrived already and who hadn't. "You can leave your shoes here." I pointed to the growing pile of shoes underneath the coats. "Alright, Louis and Niall are already here, and Lily, obviously but you know her. Just remember: they are also just human beings and try to act natural, okay?" I encouraged them with a grin and they exchanged an excited look, before following me into the kitchen. 

Niall was sitting on one of the kitchen tables, already munching on one of the cupcakes Lily had made earlier, while Louis was leaning against the counter with a beer bottle in his hand. Behind me, I could hear Milena taking in a sharp breath when she spotted the two boys. "Guys, these are Elouise, also known as El, and Milena, girls, well you know who they are." I introduced them with a smirk and Louis put down his beer bottle and smiled at them. "Hi, nice to meet you." he greeted them and ignored Milena's hand, instead pulling her into a hug. He then hugged El as well and Niall stopped eating for a minute to also give both of them a hug. I grinned and gave Louis a grateful smile which he returned. 

"Are you both studying politics, as well?" Louis asked, taking a long sip from his bottle, his posture relaxed and attentive. El and Milena seemed to relax a little bit and helped themselves to a drink, as well, before they replied. "Um, actually El is studying English literature and I am studying history." Milena explained and couldn't hide a blush when Louis kept looking at her. "You don't sound English, where are you from?" Niall asked curiously from the table and Lily and El both plopped down onto the two free chairs opposite him and Lily. "Well, I am originally from Germany, but I have spent some time in Canada and now I am studying here." Milena explained with a grin and took a long sip from her bottle. "Oh that sounds cool. Where in Canada have you lived? I love playing there, people are so friendly." Niall asked curiously and Milena then tried to explain to him where she had lived, before giving up and just showing it to him on his phone. I picked up Lily's gaze and we shared a smile, both remembering exactly how we had felt when we first had encountered the boys.

The door bell rang again, and I excused myself and left the kitchen again, leaving the others to chat among themselves. When I opened the door, it looked like everyone who hadn't arrived at this point had arrived together. Liam and Sophia, Zayn and Gigi, Ed and Leslie were all standing in front of my door, laughing when they saw my surprised face to suddenly have all of them standing in front of me. "Wow, I didn't expect all of you to arrive at the same time." I laughed and opened the door a bit wider. "Our hallway is very small, so I'm sorry if it gets a bit cramped." I warned them and stepped back so that everyone could squeeze into our flat. One by one they all hugged me and Zayn introduced me to Gigi, who was prettier than anyone I had ever seen. 

"Holy shit, you are even prettier in person." I accidentally said out loud and everyone around me started to laugh, which caught the attention from the others in the kitchen as well. Milena's eyes widened when she saw that the others had all arrived and El let out a quiet squeak. Louis, however, smirked at me and then enquired what had been so funny. "Claire expressed her admiration for Gigi." Ed snickered behind me and I shot him a stern look, before Louis burst out laughing, as well. "Very funny guys, why don't you help yourselves to a drink and some food if you like and then we'll all try to squeeze into our living room?" I suggested and everyone agreed and shuffled into the kitchen or into the living room. 

In the living room, everyone spread out across the two arm chairs, the sofa and my bean bag which I had squeezed in between one arm chair and the window. The rest of us, including me, simply sat on the carpet in front of the TV. "You need to open your presents!" Ed suggested and gave me a wide smile from the top of the bean bag, which made me question his good intentions. Everyone agreed and handed me their presents, while I quickly got the ones from Lily, Niall and Louis from the kitchen, before I sat back down between Zayn and Milena. "You need to open mine first!" Lily said with a mysterious smile and exchanged a look with Ed who nodded. Cautiously, I unwrapped the gift and saw that it was small jewelry box. 

I slowly opened it and a charm bracelet with one charm fell out together with a small note. It was a tiny silver house and when I opened the note it said "A house so that you always have a little bit of 'Home' with you. Lily x" I immediately understood the song reference and the double meaning and blinked some tears away, before I got up and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I whispered into her ear and pecked her cheek, before I plopped back down between Zayn and Milena, careful not too show off too much in my dress. The next present was from Louis and I caught his eyes, before I carefully unwrapped the small present which turned out to be a small jewelry box, as well. 

I opened it and inside was a small smiley which had two x instead of eyes, making it look just like his tattoo. "It had it made just for you." Louis explained as I jumped up again to give him a tight hug. When he pulled away, he grinned up at me and exchanged a satisfied look with Lily. It turned out that everyone at the party had contributed to the charm bracelet and I received a little charm from every single guest. Ed had given me a tiny guitar, El and Milena had added a little book for our time at uni, Leslie had given me a little star to remind me to never stop shining, Zayn and Gigi had given me a charm with the Celtic symbol for breathe on it to remind me to keep breathing during panic attacks and Liam and Sophia had a little rainbow to remind me of the good things in life, when I was going through a difficult time. 

I did an amazing job at blinking the tears away, much to everyone else's amusement, but when Ed threw another box at me it suddenly became very difficult not to ruin my makeup. "Whose present is that?" I asked him confused and a wide grin appeared on his face, before he replied. "Harry's." I felt my stomach flip and my hands shook a little bit as I unwrapped the small box. Inside was a little heart with a small handwritten note from Harry. "To remind you that you're never alone." When I looked up, the others were all grinning down at me. "Thank you guys for this beautiful present. I can't thank you enough for this." I thanked everyone and shot all of them a thankful look, before I tried to close the bracelet around my wrist, but failed miserably. 

On the bean bag Ed coughed and I shot him a glare and then continued to struggle with the lock, until Zayn reached over and gently pulled my wrist towards him. "Here, let me help." I thanked him quietly, while the others got up to refill their cups and get some more food. Liam and Louis were fiddling with our stereo and a couple of seconds later, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Can't Hold Usstarted to blare through the speakers. "Let's dance!" Niall cheered and downed the rest of his drink, before pulling Lily onto the dance floor. 

**************

Two hours later, everyone was more or less drunk and we all seemed to be having a fantastic time. I had already warned and compensated my neighbours with a bottle of wine each and earplugs for everyone, otherwise I would have felt very bad by now. Lily had just suggested karaoke and even people like me who usually hated karaoke, agreed. In my case I blamed the high level of alcohol in my blood, which obviously prevented me from making a sane decision. Niall and Ed started off and sung 'I'm A Believer' by The Monkees and everyone else clapped and danced along, before Louis and Liam took over with Robbie Williams 'Angels'. Then my drunk self got talked into picking up the microphone myself, together with Lily and Gigi who decided to sing 'Bang Bang' by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. Gigi sang Jessie's part, Lily covered Ariana and I volunteered to rap Nicki's rap. Why I did that, I couldn't really explain in that moment, but I was very confident about my rapping skills. 

It was safe to say that we all completely slayed the song. Several people had started to record us by the time I stepped forward. "If he hangin' we bangin', phone rangin', he slangin', it ain't karaoke night but get the mic 'cause I'm singing, uh!" I finished off my rap and the others cheered. I did a proud bow in every direction, until my eyes fell onto the door and I nearly dropped my mic. Harry was standing in the door way with a wide smirk on his face. Unable to process what was going on, I somehow successfully finished off the song together with Gigi and Lily, before I shoved the mic into Louis hands and sprinted towards the door. 

Harry caught me with ease and I jumped and wrapped my arms and legs around him, clinging onto him like a gibbon monkey. "How are you here?" I asked him and pulled away a little bit so that I could properly face him. "I may have lied to you this morning." Harry replied with a wide grin and I shook my head at him, before I pulled him in for a kiss which he eagerly returned. We only pulled away when the others started whistling and laughing. With slightly flushed cheeks, I untangled myself from Harry and he slowly let me down, not without unnecessarily resting his hands on my exposed legs, before I pulled my dress back down. "I hate you." I told him quietly and hit his chest with my hand. "I nearly got a heart attack when I saw you standing there!" I scolded him, but he only grinned down at me, before leaning in for another kiss. "Oi, lovebirds, behave yourselves! We want to continue our karaoke session here!" Niall shouted from the sofa and cackled when Harry flipped him off. 

"Alright, who's up next?" Louis asked from the other end of the room and shot Leslie a questioning look who refused to even go near the microphone, as Harry walked around and greeted everyone. Milena and El tried their very best not to fangirl too much, but Harry was very nice about it and acted as if he didn't notice anything out of ordinary. Zayn and Milena decided to sing next and chose to sing Don't Stop Me Now by Queen, everyone joining in eventually. Niall pretended to play the guitar and dramatically fell to the floor at the end of the guitar solo. During the song, Milena looked like she was in fangirl heaven, as she sung one of her favourite songs with one of her favourite artists. Afterwards, she walked over to me and gave me a very long hug. "Thank you for befriending me four years ago, this was the best moment of my life." she whispered into my ear and I hugged her back and whispered a "You're welcome" into her ear. 

After everyone had sung, I turned the TV off again, but when I wanted to sat back down, Harry's hand stopped me. I shot him a confused look, but he only smiled at me and then raised his voice so that it cut through the chatter around the room. "Boys?" he called out and Louis, Niall, Liam and Zayn got up and walked up the front, while Ed disappeared into the hallway, but re-emerged a minute later with my guitar in his hands. "Claire?" Harry tried to catch my attention and I looked up at him again. "I know that 'Little Things' is your favourite song, so we decided to give you a little private concert and play it for you tonight." he said and my mouth fell open. "Are you serious?" I asked him with wide eyes and the rest of the group laughed at my reaction. "Dead serious." Zayn confirmed and I couldn't stop myself from squealing and pulled Harry into a tight hug. 

I hugged all of them, but the biggest hug got Zayn. I was very much aware that he hadn't sung that song since March 2015 and I couldn't even start to explain what this meant to me. I sat down on the sofa between Lily and El, who both held my hands while I tried to stop myself from crying. Harry looked at me the whole time, a big smile on his face and he gave me a very pointed look when he sang "But you're perfect to me." After they had finished I jumped off from the sofa and pulled all of five of them into a group hug. "Thank you guys, this means the world to me." I thanked them and wiped a tear away which had escaped my eyes. My legs were shaking slightly and I leaned against Harry, who wrapped an arm around my waist. 

We danced and partied until the early hours of the morning when half of the group decided to finally go home. Leslie was the first to call it a night at 2am and Gigi and Zayn, and Liam and Sophia, and at 3am El, followed shortly afterwards. The rest of us ended up sitting, or in some cases, lying on the floor and the sofas. Louis and Milena had made tea and coffee for everyone and we were all sipping on our steaming mugs. Harry and I were cuddling in one of the arm chairs and so were Niall and Lily, while the other four had split up onto the sofa and the bean bag. With a small grin, I noticed how close Louis and Milena were sitting on the sofa, their thighs touching and her head resting on his shoulder. With a flicker of hope inside of me, I leaned my head back and felt Harry press a kiss to my hair. "You okay, love?" he asked quietly and I nodded and slightly turned my head to look up at him with a wide smile. "Perfect."


	93. Unpleasant Wake Up Calls Or May The Paint Be With You

I was woken up by a loud and very unpleasant noise which made my head feel like it was about to explode any second. "You're insecure, don't know what for, you're turning heads when you walk through the door!" Next to me, Harry let out a loud groan and pulled the duvet over our heads. Unfortunately this didn't stop whoever was playing the music from opening my door. "Baby you light up my world like nobody else, the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed, but when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell, you don't know, oh oh, you don't know you're beautiful!" I groaned and stuck my hand out of our duvet tent and made a very obvious gesture into the direction of the music. I heard two people snicker and the music was turned up even louder. "You don't know, oh oh, you don't know you're beautiful, oh oh, that's what makes you beautiful!" Louis, and someone else who I couldn't quite identify, sang along to the song.

Next to me, Harry poked his head out of the safety of my duvet. "Fuck off, Louis." Louis, however, only burst out laughing and I huffed in frustration and emerged from the darkness, as well. "Your hair looks like birds nested in it." Louis told me with a wide grin and I stuck out my tongue at him. Then my eyes fell on the person who was standing behind him in the door way with a wide grin on her face. "You traitor!" I said in a shocked tone and Milena doubled over with laughter. "Don't blame her, it was all my idea and she only helped me to put my plan into action." Louis defended her and patted her shoulder. "What exactly was the plan?" I asked and run a hand through my messy curls. "To wake you up in the worst way possible. Milena was the one who came up with the brilliant idea to play What Makes You Beautiful." Louis replied with a smirk and Milena had the decency to send me an apologetic look.

"Well, we're awake now, so you can go and pester someone else." Harry grumbled next to me and Louis sent us a wink, before he gently pushed Milena out of the door and closed the door behind him. "Finally." Harry sighed next to me and fell back into the pillows. Moments later, the door opened again and Milena poked her head through the door. "Breakfast will be ready in five minutes." she said with a smile and then quickly retreated into the kitchen. I snuggled back into my comfy pillows and rolled over so that I was facing Harry. He gave me a tired smile and then reached over to push a few strands of my untamed hair out of my face. "Morning." I smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss which he immediately returned. Harry smiled into the kiss and when he pulled away, he looked a lot happier than a moment ago.

"Now that's the way I want to be woken up." he commented with a smile and I chuckled and pressed a chased kiss to his cheek, before I pushed the blankets of my legs and swung my legs over the edge of my bed. Harry sat up as well, before falling over face down into the duvet with another groan. Laughing, I picked up his shirt and threw it at him. "Here, get dressed and then we can have some breakfast. I am in desperate need of some food and painkillers for my head." I told him and he sat back up and this time successfully managed to climb out of my bed, as well. Involuntarily, my eyes wandered up and down his body until I heard Harry clear his throat and my head snapped up. "See something you like?" he asked with a smirk, suddenly a lot more awake than only moments ago. I shook my head, but my flushed cheeks gave me away. 

"I've seen better." I told him with a smirk and his eyes narrowed. He tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow at me, the smug smirk never leaving his lips. "Is that so?" he asked me and took a step forward. Almost automatically, I took a step backwards. This little game continued, until my back hit the door of my closet and Harry's smirk turned into a triumphant grin. My breath hitched, when he placed his arms on both sides of my head, successfully trapping me between his body and the closet. He leaned in and just when I thought he would kiss me, he dipped his head and pressed a light kiss just underneath my jawline. A shiver run down my spine and I unconsciously tilted my head back, exposing my neck to Harry. He, of course, instantly took advantage of this and trailed feather light kisses down my neck towards my collar bone. I let out a moan and felt Harry smirk against my skin.

"You have no idea how long I have been wanting to hear that sound from you." he said in a low tone, his voice suddenly slightly hoarse. Slowly, I tilted my head back so that I could face him, and lifted my hand to run my fingers through his short hair. "I missed you." I told him quietly and a wide smile appeared on his face. "I missed you, too, love." he replied and then captured my lips again with his own, asking for entrance. Within seconds our kiss turned into a full-on make out session. Apparently, we had been to, um, occupied to hear anything because I nearly got a heart attack when someone spoke up. "Ew, not what I want to see in the morning." Ed's voice interrupted us. Harry and I jumped apart and I quickly slid back towards the ground and tried to hide my embarrassment. Harry didn't seem to be too embarrassed because he flashed Ed a grin and told him that we'd join the others in a minute, before he turned his attention back to me. "Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?" he smirked down at me and a few seconds later I had already forgotten that Ed had evr interrupted us.

Five minutes later, Harry and I joined the others in the kitchen. "Your minute seems to be a bit longer than mine." Ed smirked at Harry from the kitchen table and I blushed a bit. The other four were sitting around the kitchen table, as well, all more or less hungover munching on a huge pile of pancakes which were sitting in the middle of the table. Harry disappeared into the living room and returned a couple of seconds later with the bean bag which he placed in front of the kitchen table, before he sat down himself. When he saw me looking around for a place to sit, he patted his knee and I happily sat down, his right arm instantly wrapping itself around my waist.

"So, how were the sofa and the air bed?" Harry directed his attention to Ed, Louis and Milena who had slept together in the living room because of the lack of beds and space in our small flat. "My back definitely didn't like your sofa." Ed replied and reached over the table to help himself to some jam. When he picked up the jar, he winced a bit and rubbed his back with his other hand. "I'll call IKEA and tell them their sofas are not comfortable enough for sleeping." Lily said with a grin and Ed shot her a look. "The air bed wasn't very comfy either." Louis said in a dry tone. "Are you sure it's made for two people?" he asked me skeptically and before I could reply, he added "Because Milena either takes up a lot of space for someone to small, or it is most definitely for one person only." Milena glared at him from the other side of the table and he blew her a kiss which she accepted with a gagging gesture.

We all grinned at their exchange and then changed the topic to any potential plans for the day. "Everyone is free, right?" Louis asked and when everyone nodded, his face lit up. "We should all go paint balling!" he suggested excitedly. "There is a sick venue quite close called Mayhem." We others looked at each other and then all agreed, making Louis' smile widen even more if that was even possible. "I'll give them a ring and see if they have any free spaces today." he said with a wide grin and disappeared into the hallway, while we proceeded to eat our pancakes. "How are you feeling this morning?" I asked Lily and leaned back against Harry's broad chest, which was surprisingly comfortable. "Could be better." She pulled a face and then took a big sip from her coffee. "The food is definitely helping. Definitely better than Louis' wake up call this morning. Up All Night is definitely not what I want to hear in the early morning." she grumbled and glared at the kitchen door behind which Louis was still on the phone to the paintball place.

Niall patted her arm, while shoving another big load of pancake into his mouth. "I see where your priorities lie." Lily commented in a dry tone. Niall started to choke on his pancake and had a coughing fit for a couple of seconds, before he down a large gulp of water which seemed to help. "I..." he panted and took another big gulp from the water glass that Ed had handed him. "You know that you're more important than food to me, right?" he asked her and I let out a quiet "awww" which made the others laugh. "Yes, I do, you idiot." Lily grinned at him and pressed a short kiss to his lips, before she continued eating her pancakes with a small smile on her face.

Louis chose that moment to return to the kitchen. "They had one last spot at two o'clock." he told us with a wide grin and the table erupted in cheers. "That's just enough time to get home for a wee bit and get changed." Ed said happily and shot a look at our kitchen clock. "How about we all meet at the venue at five to two?" Harry suggested behind me and rested his chin on my shoulder. "Sounds good to me." Niall agreed and everyone else nodded, as well. "Great, it's gonna be awesome!" Louis cheered excitedly, before starting a discussion with Niall over who should get the last pancake.

*************

To my big surprise, everyone arrived at the Paintball Place on time. We were greeted by Derek, who owned the place, and were then shown where we could get changed into their special paint ball gear. We girls were finished before the boys and couldn't help but tease them about them. "And you make fun of us for being late." Milena said with a grin and placed a hand on her hip. "What did you do in there? Fangirl over the real looking uniforms?" she snickered and Lily and I laughed behind her. Louis shot us an indignant look, before opening hi mouth to reply, but then closed it again, making us laugh even more. "Arlight, guys-" Derek started off, but was interrupted by Harry. "And girls." he added with a wink in my direction and I blew him a kiss which he dramatically caught, before putting a hand over his heart.

"So, have you decided what teams you're going to form?" Derek asked the group and we all exchanged looks, before Ed voiced what everyone had been thinking. "How about we do boys vs girls." he suggested with a twinkle in his eyes and the other three nodded in agreement and tried to pull a tough pose behind him, but failed miserably. Milena, Lily and I exchanged a look and nodded, as well. "You're going to go down." Lily sang with a wide smirk and winked at Niall, who only raised an eyebrow in response. "Oh honey, you have no idea what you just signed up for." he said with a fake American accent which made everyone laugh.

"Great, I have reserved the Urban playground for you which is right over there." Derek told us and pointed to an entrance to his right. From where we were standing you could only see a shed and a broken car, but it looked very promising. "Here is a map for each group." He handed me and Louis a map and then told us that we had two minutes for a strategic meeting, before we would start. The boys took two steps away from us and huddled together, whispering among themselves. We girls exchanged a grin, before we all leaned forward to inspect the map in my hands. "I think they will go the corrugated sheet shelter over there, but we're all small, we could start off behind the turned over car over there." Lily pointed to the far end of the ground.

"How are we gonna do this though? We have four of them against us three." I thought out loud. "How about I take Niall and Ed and you take Harry and Milena can take down Louis." Lily suggested with a smirk and Milena and I looked at each other and nodded. "Awesome, let's win this girls." Milena said with a grin, before we turned around to face the boys, who were already waiting for us. "Ready to go?" Derek asked and we nodded and put our helmets on. "Remember, when you're shot and it leaves a mark, you're out." Derek reminded us again, before opening the door to the play ground. "May the paint be with you." Harry cried out in an attempted joke and everyone laughed, before the bell went off and we all dashed in different directions.

After we had safely made it to the car, we slowly started to creep forward, more or less in a line, and hid behind cars and small objects like bins and poles. We had agreed on signs which we would use to communicate with each other. The boys had all received numbers and we had agreed on gestures which would tell us whether one of the other two had spotted someone or was going after someone. Next to me, I heard a crack and my head whipped around. I placed my fist over my heart and Lily nodded, before I started to follow whoever was next to me.

Constantly looking around and analysing my surroundings, I noticed that whoever I was following, was trying to lead me into a trap. It was a small corner between what looked like an abandoned shop and a bus. To his misfortune, the shop was very close to where we had first started off and I knew that there was a back door for the shop. I took a very deep breath, before dashing around a corner into the open for a couple of seconds, as silently as I could. Pressing my gun to my body, I slipped through the door and silently closed it behind me.

For the first time, I got a good look at my opponent and a wide grin spread across my face when I immediately recognised him. Harry was crouching down behind a shelf at the very front of the shop, completely unaware that I was already creeping up behind him. As quietly as I could, I ducked down behind a shelf and raised my arms just high enough to aim for his unprotected back. Bam! Harry spun around, the parts of his face which I could clearly see behind his helmet showed pure shock and surprise. I had successfully hit him in the back and he knew as well as I did that I had just managed to smear his back with a bright orange mark.

When he recognised me behind my helmet, his expression of shock turned into a wide smirk and with three big steps he was in front of me, his helmet underneath his arm. "I will get you back for that." he promised me in a dark tone and grimly starred down at me, his eyes twinkling with mischief. I could suddenly imagine him on set of his WWII movie and silently prayed that I would survive the movie if he looked as good in a uniform as he did now. I tilted my head and let my eyes wander up and down his body, before resting on his face for a couple of seconds, making him wonder what I was up to. "You wish." I suddenly shot back and run my fingers down his chest, before whirling around and disappearing through the backdoor. I heard his loud laughter, before I disappeared again, on the search for my two team mates.

We had agreed on a couple of meeting points after one of us had dashed off and I tried the closest one which was a little niche between a car and bus stop. To my surprise, Lily and Milena were already waiting for me, both with wide grins on their faces. "Harry's down." I told them in a hushed tone and they both silently cheered, before they updated me on what they had been doing in the four or five minutes that I had been gone. "Niall is down, as well. Lily distracted him and I shot him in the back." Milena told me with a smirk and Lily nodded with a proud grin. "So it's only Louis and Ed now." I said and they nodded. "We'll take them down as a team. Milena, if we see Louis, you distract him and if we see Ed one of us will do it, alright?" I asked and they both nodded. "Why do I have to distract Louis when you know him best?" Milena whispered and Lily and I exchanged a look, before we looked back at her. "Just do it and we'll talk about it later, alright?" Lily asked and when Milena nodded, we carefully started our way back to the centre of the play ground.

We found Ed and Louis sooner than we had anticipated and they were obviously keen to win this. One second we were still cautiously creeping forward, the next minute we were attacked in a hail of paintballs, all three of us on the floor in a matter of seconds. "Come out of your hiding spot and surrender!" Louis shouted from behind a car and fired in our direction. Milena shot me a look and I nodded and she slowly sneaked around the car so that her head could be seen from where Louis and Ed were standing. "Oi, sassmaster!" she shouted and quickly ducked behind the hood of the car when Louis immediately aimed at her. "Flattery will only get you so far, love!" he shouted back and the car was decorated with another bright yellow splash of paint. I used his diverted attention and run around a hut which was behind their hideout.

Sadly, Ed must have heard me because he whirled around and instantly opened fire. I let myself fall to the ground and robbed around the hut, where I jumped to my feet again and attempted to run to the next hiding spot. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough and a moment later, Ed appeared behind the hut, his gun aimed at me, while mine was uselessly aimed at the ground because I was too shocked to do anything. "Say goodbye." he told me with a wide smirk on his face and pulled the trigger. I tried to raise my gun, as well, but it was too late, I was already marked. However, before Ed could celebrate his victory, a loud smack made both of us jump and Lily appeared behind Ed with her gun in her hands and a wide smirk on her face. "Goodbye." she said and pulled the trigger, successfully taking Ed down. After a moment of surprise, we all burst out laughing, until shouts erupted from the other side of the hut and we quickly run around to see what was happening.

Milena and Louis seemed to be having a show down. Both were crouched behind two cars, paint balls flying back and forth between the two of them. "Just surrender and I will make it less painful!" Louis shouted from behind his car and Milena's hand popped up from behind the car for a second, making a very obvious gesture into Louis' direction. "Never in a million years!" she shouted back and fired again, missing Louis by only inches. "Did I tell you that you've always been my favourite member of One Direction?" Milena shouted and from our spot we could see the glimpse of surprise on Louis' face, before he shook his head. Milena, sneaky as she was, used this short moment of distraction and successfully hit him at his shoulder, leaving a bright orange mark on his army uniform.

Lily and I cheered and run over to her to pull her into a group hug. Over Lily's shoulder I could see Louis who was still starring at his shoulder in disbelief. "We won, we won, we won!" Milena and Lily sang and we jumped around, before we all took our helmets off and slowly made our way too the exist where Harry was already waiting for us. "Well, played." Louis said to Milena and threw his arm around her shoulder. She nudged him in the side and grinned up at him. "You weren't too shabby yourself." she replied and everyone laughed. Harry pressed a kiss to my temple, before pulling me into his side and when I turned my head to look at the others, I saw Ed pout because he didn't have anyone. Harry must have seen it as well, because he lifted his other arm and gestured for Ed to come to his other side, which he did to the amusement of everyone else.

We met Derek in the lobby where he took our guns and helmets from us, before congratulating us girls on our win. "Great job, ladies!" he said and we all high-fived him, while the boys stood next to us with crossed arms and pouts on their faces. "I did warn you that you would be going down." Lily reminded them with a wide smirk and run her fingers through her hair which was slightly flat from the helmet. Mature, as always, Niall stuck his tongue out at her and she blew him a kiss in response which made the rest of us laugh. "How about a group photo before you guys get changed?" Derek asked and we all huddled together, girls at the front and the guys in the back. "Thank you." Harry immediately thanked him when the photo had been taken and took his phone back. "Can I post this on instagram?" he asked us and we all gathered around his phone to have a proper look at the photo.

We all looked exhausted, but very happy and it was impossible to make out any connections between us and the boys, apart from Lily and Niall, but they were already publicly dating aynway. "Are you sure you want to interrupt your special selection of photos with this?" I asked in a teasing tone and he shot me a stern look, before nodding. "Are you sure you're absolutely okay with this though?" he asked me and Milena, who nodded. I thought for a second, before nodding, as well. "Let's get this over with." I said and Harry intertwined our fingers and gave my hand a light squeeze, before he pressed 'post'.

************

I knew I shouldn't be doing this, but I couldn't help myself. My finger was hovering over my phone screen where the twitter app was located. "Don't do it, you're gonna regret it." a tiny voice at the back of my head told me, but the curiosity won. I silently thanked my younger self for never creating a twitter account under my real name which meant that I would be able to continue to stay private on social media, as long as no one leaked my private account. Without hesitation, I clicked on 'worldwide trends' and there it was. 'PAINTBALL ADVENTURE' was the number one trend and when I clicked on it, Harry's photo popped up and I clicked on it.

Smiling down at my screen, I saved it and then looked at what people were writing. Most of them seemed to say "Who are the other two girls in the photo?" Someone had drawn a red circle around my head and had commented "Ed's new girlfriend?" I giggled quietly and took a screenshot of it to send it to Ed later that day. Milena was mostly speculated to be either Harry's or Louis' secret girlfriend. For whatever reason, no one seemed to connect me to Harry or Louis which I was very grateful for. Unfortunately, I also saw a lot of tweets telling both of us to 'fuck off'. Most of the fandom had already gotten used to the idea of Lily and Niall, apart from the occasional haters, but neither I nor Milena had ever appeared on any photo with either of them, so of course people were curious. 

I logged out of twitter and opened tumblr where I hoped I would get a hate-free zone. Biting back my laugh at some of the funny captions and tags, I jumped a little bit, when a deep voice interrupted my online search. "Already awake?" Harry asked next to me and sleepily rubbed his eyes. His hair was sticking into every possible direction and he had a bit of a stubble, which looked incredibly sexy on him. I hummed and closed the app, before I locked my phone and let it slip onto the night stand next to Harry, before I cuddled back into his warm body.

"You went online, didn't you?" he asked quietly after a couple of seconds and started to draw lazy patterns on my bare arm, the gentle touch of his fingers causing goosebumps to appear on my arm. I nodded in reply and felt him sigh underneath me. "Claire?" I hummed and shifted a bit so that I was looking up at him. "You are the most beautiful woman I know and whatever these jealous people are saying online is not true, alright?" I nodded silently and laid my head back onto his chest. "They haven't really made any connection between the two of us, but they are still very, um, protective of you and say that Milena and I are just two ugly wannabes who somehow managed to get into your group of friends." I told him and then added with a chuckle "Oh, and apparently I'm dating Ed." Harry snickered, before he became serious again. 

"But seriously though, they are just very jealous people who have too much free time on their hands." he repeated and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Please don't listen to anything they're saying, okay?" I nodded and forced a smile onto my face, which didn't quite reach my eyes. "On a different note..." Harry trailed off and suddenly I found myself on my back, Harry hovering over me with a wide smirk on his face. He was holding my arms together above my head and now began to trail light kisses down my neck to the hem of his shirt which I was wearing for bed. "Harry..." I said warily, my voice suddenly a bit hoarse. He only hummed and then started to slowly unbutton the shirt with one hand, somehow holding himself up, while his other was still tightly clasped around my wrists. When he had unbuttoned it completely he lifted his head again, a proud grin on his face. "Payback is a bitch, isn't it?" he asked and winked at me, before he finally let go off my hands.

They instantly wandered down to the shirt, but when I started to button it up again, Harry's big hands stopped me. "Do you trust me?" he asked me, his green eyes now completely serious. After a couple of seconds, I nodded and slowly lowered my hands. He leaned in again and his full, pink lips met mine, one hand holding up his body while the other slowly rubbed up and down the side of my upper body. Almost automatically, my hands reached up too cup his face and my fingers got tangled in his hair. After another silent question his lips wandered down again, before he gently pushed the shirt open and his breathing hitched when he took my body in. "You are so fucking beautiful, Claire." His voice was suddenly much deeper than usually and I felt my cheeks heat up under his intense gaze. 

Suddenly very self-conscious, I averted my eyes, but Harry gently took my chin between his fingers and forced me to look him in the eyes again. "You are beautiful, love. And whatever your prick of ex-boyfriend has told you is completely crap, alright?" he asked me seriously and I felt the ends of my mouth tug into a small smile. "There is that beautiful smile." he said with a twinkle in his eyes, before pressing another kiss to my lips. "Harry?" I managed to say in between kisses and his green eyes met my own. "Are you, um, is it... do you mind that we haven't... you know?" I asked him shyly and felt my cheeks heat up again. 

Realisation flashed through his eyes and he immediately shook his head. "I'm here for you, alright? Of course I won't deny that I haven't felt the, um, desire, to go further with you, but I'm not just here for your body and I respect you way too much to do something against your will, alright? I'll wait as long as it takes you to be ready to take the next step, love." he assured me and pecked my nose, chuckling when I pulled a weird face. "Until then I'm perfectly able to take care of myself." he added with a sly grin and I hit his chest and laughed, before pulling him back down to me.

It took us another half an hour, until we finally got up. We had ended up at my flat after our paintball adventure, which we had to ourselves as Lily and Niall had very quickly disappeared to his place after we had finished our game. Harry spent an awful lot of time buttoning his shirt back up, pressing a light kiss to my stomach after every button, before he finally gave into the loud rumbling noises that my stomach was making. "Tea and Toast okay?" I asked him after checking our kitchen cabinets. Instead of answering my question, he stepped very closely behind me, his warm breath tickling the back of my neck. "I'll have whatever you're having." he said and pressed a light kiss to the crook of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. It still surprised me how much of an effect little gestures like this had on me. "Harry, we're never gonna have breakfast if you continue this." I murmured when he continued to move his lips over my skin.

"I'm just making up for the last few days and I also need to some good memories for the next few weeks until I'll see you again." he said lowly against my skin and I felt my stomach twist when he mentioned the fact that he wasn't back for good. "When do you have to leave?" I whispered and leaned back into him, my head resting against his shoulder. He pressed another kiss to my neck, before he replied. "Tonight." The sadness was evident in his voice and his arms around my waist tightened for a moment. "Let's make the next few hours memorable then." I said and turned around in his embrace to see a small smile on his face. "I like the sound of that." he smirked down at me and pulled me even closer to him. My stomach, however, loudly demanded to be fed, so he only pressed a light kiss to my forehead before pushing me onto a kitchen chair, before starting to prepare breakfast for the both of us.


	94. I Love You Or How I Was An Idiot

"I miss you already." Harry mumbled into my hair and tightened his grip around me. I buried my face in his neck and tried to savour this moment for the next few weeks to come. "I will miss you, too." I admitted and felt him press a kiss to my hair. Our moment was interrupted by the ringing of Harry's phone. With a sigh, he pulled away and instead intertwined our fingers, while he answered the phone with his other hand. "Hello?" There was a short pause while he listened to whoever was at the other end of the line. I leaned against him and felt him give my hand a light squeeze. "Thank you, I'll be downstairs in a minute." he replied and pushed the phone back into his pocket.

I looked up at him and saw his expression mirroring mine. He let go off my hand and gently cupped my face, before pressing a final kiss to my lips. His eyes searched mine for something, before he took a deep breath. "I love you, Claire." he said sincerely, his eyes filled with a mixture of love and sadness. I opened my mouth and closed it again without making a sound and his face fell, before he let go off me. He pressed one last kiss to my forehead, before he stepped away from me and picked up his bag from the floor. 

Again, I tried to say something, but no words left my mouth. In the door he turned around one more time and gave me a sad smile. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks, love, take care of yourself." He turned around and started closing the door, but before he could shut it completely, I finally found my voice again. "Harry, I..." I began, but he interrupted me. "It's fine, love, don't worry about it." he said, before he closed the door completely, leaving me standing in my hallway in shock. There was one thing that I knew for sure: whatever you wanted to call this situation, it was definitely not fine. Outside, I heard the car drive off to the airport and slid down to the floor in our hallway, hot tears streaming down my face.

When Lily returned home two hours later she found me in the same position, but the tears had dried by this point. Harry hadn't replied to any of my messages, nor had he answered or returned any of my calls and by now he was most likely already on the plane down to France again. "Hi, I'm back, what have yo-" Lily interrupted herself when her eyes fell on me. "What's wrong?" she asked and closed the door behind her, before she crouched down in front of me. "Harry told me he loves me." I sniffled and burst into tears again. Lily's look of concern changed into one of confusion. "And that's a problem why?" she asked and crouched down in front of me. "I didn't say it back!" I wailed and a frown appeared on her face. "But... you do love him?" she asked and when I nodded she sighed and pulled me into a hug.

"Why didn't you say it back?" she asked me and I shrugged and pulled away a bit. "I was in shock, I didn't expect him to say it!" I explained and wiped my eyes with my sleeve, only to notice that I was wearing one of Harry's hoodies which made me cry even harder. "And he just pulled away and said 'it's fine' and walked out before I could say anything and I was too much in shock to run after him and he has been ignoring me ever since." I leaned my head back against the wall and took a few deep breaths to calm me down. "Then why are you still sitting here?" Lily asked me and I looked up in confusion. 

"Go to France and tell him!" she told me with a stern look and chuckled when she saw my face. "Claire, for someone so intelligent you can sometimes be a little bit stupid." she said with a grin and stood up. She held out a hand for me and pulled me up, as well, before pulling me into a tight hug. "Do you really think I should fly to France?" I asked into her shoulder and she instantly let go off me and shoved me into the direction of my room. "Yes, of course! You'll go and pack and I'll look for the next flight to Paris and try to figure out where exactly he's filming tomorrow, alright?" 

The next morning I found myself on a plane at 6.15am, squeezed between two very serious and important looking business men. My heart was beating very fast when we finally touched down at Charles de Gaulle and I impatiently waited for my turn to show my passport, before I looked for a sign which said 'taxi'. Ten minutes later I had finally found it and was happy that my French was apparently good enough to communicate with the taxi driver who would drive me up to Dunkirk for the next three hours. Fortunately I had already made a deal for a cheaper price from London when I had organised the taxi, but I still knew this drive would be very expensive. 

At first, the driver tried to have a conversation with me, but after half an hour he noticed that my thoughts were definitely somewhere else and left me alone, only throwing me a concerned look every once in a while. We arrived in Dunkirk around 10.30 am and he dropped me off at the edge of the set, before wishing me good luck and driving off again. As I saw the taxi disappear around the corner, I suddenly realised that I hadn't really thought this whole idea through. How was I supposed to get on set? No one really knew that I was his girlfriend because we hadn't gone public and I was sure that the security wouldn't let me through just because I claimed to be his girlfriend.

With a sigh, I walked along the barrier, until I run into a security guard who eyed me warily, but didn't say anything as I walked up to him. "Hi." I greeted him with a small smile when I reached him. "Hello, ma'am." he replied with an American accent, hovering over me with a stern look on his face. "Look, I know you probably hear this all the time, but I actually really do know Harry and I desperately need to see him." I gave him a hopeful look, but his face pulled into a smile and he shook his head. "Nice try, honey, but I hear that about ten times a day. I'm sorry, but I can't let you through." My heart sank and I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "Please, I really have to see him! I messed up last night and I have to apologise to him!" I begged, but he only sent me an apologetic smile. "I'm very sorry, honey, but no one is allowed on set, except family members and friends. Is he expecting you?" he asked me and when I shook my head he shrugged. "Then I can't really help you, honey, I'm sorry." 

He turned around, but I wasn't ready to give up yet. "Wait!" I called out and he looked over his shoulder. "I have proof that I know him!" I said and he let out a loud sigh, before he turned around and walked back to me. I opened my photo gallery and shoved my phone into his hands. He looked at the photo of me wrapped in Harry's arms with a wide smile on pur faces from the night before and then back up at me. "And this isn't photo shopped?" he asked me and I immediately shook his head. "I have his phone number, I can call him!" I suggested, but this time he shook his head. "If he's filming he won't be able to answer it." My face fell and I turned around, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"Alright, alright, I'm gonna take a risk and let you in." he gave in and I did a little jump and pulled him into a hug, before I realised what I was doing and quickly let go of him. I cleared my throat and he laughed, before opening the barrier for me. "Thank you, um..." He grinned, before he replied. "Dan, Dan Fosters." he said and I shook his hand with a wide grin. "It's nice to meet you, Dan. I'm Claire." I let go off his hand and followed him through a maze of trailers and important looking people until we reached the beach where a small group of people seemed to be filming a scene. "I'll leave you here, honey. Harry's filming over there, but he should be done soon." I gave him one last smile, before I timidly sat down between the sand dunes, my eyes never leaving the beach. The group was too far away which made it impossible for me to tell who my boyfriend was, but my heart was beating like crazy in my chest and I rubbed my sweaty palms against my jeans. 

About twenty minutes later, they seemed to be done and the group slowly made their way up the dunes towards the trailers behind me and I hesitantly stood up, when I saw them approaching me. With a little smile, I noticed that Harry was joking around with the rest of the cast, his head thrown back in laughter. One of them noticed me and gave Harry a little nudge, before nodding in my direction. The look on his face was priceless. He stopped mid-step, before he seemed to snap out of it and started running towards me. I felt my face split into a wide grin and I dropped my backpack and started to run towards him, as well.

We met half-way and I literally jumped him, wrapping my arms around his neck while my legs wrapped themselves around his waist, before his lips hungrily attacked mine. "I love you, too." I told him breathlessly as soon as we had pulled apart for air. The smile which appeared on his face was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and without hesitation, his lips were back on mine. We only pulled away, when his mates started to whistle, me mildly embarrassed while he only sent them a smug smirk, before connecting our lips again, until we fell over into the sand. Everyone started to laugh and he quickly rolled off me, before he reached over and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. 

"Did you fly here just to tell me this?" he asked me and when I nodded a look of pure love and happiness appeared on his face, before he pressed another chased kiss to my lips. "I am so sorry for not saying it back last night, I was just very surprised and simply an idiot and-" I started to apologise, but Harry placed one of his fingers over lips, effectively shutting me up. "You're here now and that's all that counts." he assured me and then sat up, shaking the sand out of his hair. Only now I had time to take in his whole appearance. He had mud smeared all over his face and his uniform and for some reason this looked incredibly good on him. Without realising it, I bit my lip and let my eyes wander up and down his body, butterflies erupting in my stomach. "Seeing something you like, love?" Harry interrupted me with a wide smirk on his face, before gently pushing a strand of lose hair out of my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek for a bit longer. Instead of replying, I only winked at him, before scrambling to my feet and taking off into the direction of the vans, a laughing Harry hot on my heels.

Harry chased me around the vans and caravans which were piled up around set, until he caught me in a back corner and trapped me between his body and the backside of a caravan. Both of us were breathing heavily and for some reason I suddenly didn't mind being pressed against a caravan at all. "You look really hot in your uniform." I accidentally blurted out and blushed deeply when I realised what I had just said. Harry threw his head back in laughter and I enjoyed the beautiful view in front of me, while trying to hide my embarrassed grin. When he looked back down at me, his green eyes were twinkling with mischief and before I could react in anyway, he had smeared his muddy finger right across my cheek.

My shocked expression must have looked quite funny because he started to laugh again and then leaned in to rub his muddy cheek against mine. He giggled like a little school boy and run a hand through his hair. "Ooops." he said with a wide smirk which suddenly disappeared when I leaned in and pressed my lips right at the corner of his mouth, trailing my fingers down his chest towards his belt, before I suddenly ducked underneath his arms and dashed away. "Oooops!" I called over my shoulder and heard Harry's loud laughter behind me, as he followed me. 

Unfortunately, this one small moment in which I hadn't watched where I was going turned out to be a very big mistake, because when I turned my head back it was too late to avoid a crash. Lucky as I was, I managed to crash into Kenneth Branagh out of all the people who happened to be on set. He caught be before I fell to the ground and placed me safely back onto my feet. "Oh my God, I am SO sorry, Sir, I... I didn't watch where I was going because Harry was chasing me and-" I started to apologise, but to my surprise his face split into a grin. "Don't worry about it, miss. Could happen to anyone." Behind us Harry had finally caught up with us and was very unsuccessfully trying to hide a grin. "Is this young lady with you, Harry?" he asked him and when Harry nodded he patted my shoulder and then continued his way towards the caravan that Harry had just pressed me up against, only seconds ago. "Enjoy your time in Dunkirk!" he added over his shoulder and disappeared around a corner.

As soon as he was gone, I let out a loud sigh of relief and Harry started to laugh again when he saw the mesmerised look on my face. "Your... face..." he managed to squeeze out in between giggles and doubled over in laughter. I watched him with a stern look on my face and crossed my arms in front of my chest, while I impatiently tapped my foot on the ground. "Oh come on, this was hilarious." Harry tried to make me smile again and stepped in front of me. When he tried to kiss me, I turned my head to the left, but I couldn't hide the hint of a smile which was threatening to show on my face. Knowing exactly what he was doing, he slowly started to trail kisses down my neck, sending shivers down my spine. "Claire?" he murmured against my skin. Unable to form any words, I only hummed. "Will you stay the night?" he asked timidly and looked up at me from underneath his long eyelashes. "Of course." I promised instantly and his whole face lit up, before he occupied himself again with the skin right above my collar bone.

We fooled around in the shadows between the vans and caravans, our bodies always somehow connected, until we were interrupted my a PA who guided Harry away for another scene. He pushed the keys to his trailer into my hands and whispered the number into my ear, before he was pulled away to the make-up trailer by the grinning PA. Unsurprisingly, it took me nearly ten minutes to find Harry's trailer. After a moment of hesitation, I unlocked his door and slipped through the door. The inside looked exactly like somewhere where Harry would enjoy spending some down time. A record player stood in a corner with a big pile of records next to it and a big bed filled out the whole back of the trailer, a guitar leaned against the wall. Hesitantly, I sat down on the neatly folded blanket and let my eyes wander over the water kettle which stood on a little table together with a couple of mugs and the photos he had pinned on the wall.

My heart skipped a beat when I noticed one of us. I wasn't sure when it had been taken, but we were both lying on my sofa and I was smiling up at him, while he was kissing my forehead. We looked very happy and very much in love and I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach as I stared at the photo on the wall. However, the photo that surprised me the most was standing on the small table next to the bed on top of his records. It was a photo of me, just me. My head was thrown back in laughter, my eyes closed, and I looked more carefree and happier than I remember feeling at any point during the past few months.

Carefully, I picked it up and studied it, before I heard voices outside and quickly placed it back on top of the records. With a small smile I recognised the record on top of the small pile. It was the one I had given him for his birthday which had belonged to my dad. My hands were shaking a bit, as I pulled it out of its cover and gently placed it onto the player, before I put the needle on the edge of the record and pressed play. 'Come Together' sounded through the room and I sat down onto his bed and closed my eyes, just listening to the music.

I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, The Beatles had stopped playing and Harry was standing in the doorway with a smile on his face. He was even muddier than earlier at the beach and the the first thing he did when he entered was take his shoes off. "Hey, did you get some sleep?" he asked me and started to unbutton his shirt. With a yawn, I sat up and run my hand through my hair, my eyes never leaving his. "I think I did, yes." I felt my cheeks heat up and watched him, as he locked his door and pushed the muddy trousers down his long legs, before he reached for a pack of wet wipes and cleaned his face a little bit. 

Without saying a word, he walked over to me and silently gestured me to scoot over, before he lay down beside me and pulled me down to lie next to him. With a happy sigh, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer into him until my head rested on his chest. "Thank you for flying all the way to France." he thanked me quietly. I moved a little bit so that I could look up at him and smiled when my eyes met his. "Of course." His smile deepened and his dimples appeared, before he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine for a short, but sweet kiss. "Are you done for the day?" I asked him and cuddled back into him. He hummed and intertwined our fingers with one hand, while the other began to gently stroke my hair, making me sleepy again. "Do you want to stay here for a bit more, or do you want to go back to the hotel?" he asked me and I opened one eye, before my stomach answered his question for me with a loud growl. 

Laughing, he gently pushed me off his chest and sat up, but I only let out a loud groan and pulled the blanket over my head. "Hey, it's you who's hungry, love." Harry chuckled and I poked my head out of my blanket again to send him a glare which made him chuckle even more. "Come on, I'll order room service and then we'll watch a movie or something." he suggested and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, before standing up. I rolled over onto my side and silently watched him as he walked around the room only in his underwear in the search of some clothes. 

His toned body was a beautiful thing to watch and I let my eyes wander over the countless tattoos which were scattered all over his body. Only when Harry cleared his throat, my eyes snapped up and I knew that my face was probably crimson red by now. Suddenly, I wasn't so sure if I would be able to only watch a movie with him. "Ready to go?" he asked with a smirk, as if he knew what was going through my mind, and offered me his hand which I gratefully took, before I followed him outside into the bright sun.


	95. No Control Or No Regrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: minor sexual content

I was sprawled over Harry's bed and watched him as he walked around in front of me, while he tidied up his room a little bit. His shirt had already carelessly thrown over a chair the minute he had entered the room, which I would be the last person to object to. There was a loud knock on the door and Harry quickly walked over and opened it to accept a tray with food. After he had tipped the guy, he quietly closed the door behind him and carefully placed the tray on the table in front of the small sofa, which was standing in front of his window. With a calculating look outside, he pulled the light curtains shut, enough to shut the world out, but not enough to stop the light from entering the room. 

With a sigh, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and joined him on the sofa where we both helped us to a slice of pizza each. We both happily munched on a slice each, before a small smiled appeared on his face. "Um, you've got a little something there." Harry leaned forward and wiped the edge of my mouth with his thumb, before licking the sauce off his finger, his eyes never leaving mine. This small gesture had a bigger effect on me that I wanted to admit, so I avoided his intense gaze and wiped my fingers with a tissue from the box which was lying on the small table next to the pizza. When I dared to look up again, Harry was already watching me and suddenly the room seemed very hot.

His the colour of his eyes had somehow turned a shade darker and when I nervously bit my lips, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Without looking away, I lifted my shirt and pulled it over my head, leaving me only in my thin top, my black bra very visible through the thin material. I didn't know where the sudden spark of courage had come from, but the shirtless, slightly sweaty man in front of me definitely made it very difficult to make a sane decision. Harry's eyes wandered down to my breasts and then back up and his lips tugged into a smirk. "It's kinda hot in here." I said hoarsely and lifted my hair from my neck for a few seconds, in the hope of some cool air against my hot skin. "Is that so?" he asked in a low tone, his long fingers momentarily touching his lips, before his tongue poked out for a second to wet them, his eyes never leaving mine.

This small gesture was enough to push me over the edge. "Fuck it." I mumbled under my breath, before I leaned forward and crashed my lips against his. He returned the kiss just as hungrily and suddenly he was everywhere, his hands roaming over my body while mine were tangled into his hair. A few seconds later I found myself on his lap as we pulled away for a few seconds to catch our breaths. "Bed?" I panted and he complied with a smirk, his lips immediately back on mine, while he lifted me up and carefully carried me over to his bed, where he gently dropped me, before he was hovering over me again. I could feel the growing bulge in his jeans against my lower body and he moaned lightly when I pressed myself against him.

"Claire, are you sure you want to do this? Because I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop if we continue like this." he asked me and gently pushed my hair out of my face, his eyes searching mine for permission. "I'm sure." I said without hesitation and connected our lips again. After another reassuring look from me, he carefully pulled my top over my head and a few moments later our jeans followed my top onto the small pile of clothes next to his bed. Our kisses became more heated and I found myself straddling him when he pulled away one more time, his hands cupping my face. "Do you trust me?" he asked me, his green eyes burning into mine with a mixture of love and desire. "I trust you." I replied with a small smile and saw his eyes lightening up when he noticed the lack of hesitation in my voice. "Tell me when I should stop." he told me, before he lowered me onto the bed again, but I never did.

I woke up in the early hours of the morning and looked over to the sleeping man who was lying next to me. His naked body was partly covered by the sheets, but he was still the most beautiful man I had ever layed eyes on. I didn't regret anything, but it amazed me that it had only taken Harry a couple of months to trust him more than anyone in the world, when my first boyfriend hadn't managed to make me feel so safe, loved and beautiful at the same time in the two and a half years that we had dated. Not even Louis, who had gained my trust within the matter of days, had managed to make me feel as safe as Harry could. Leaning over, I gently pushed a loose strand of hair out of his face and he moved a little bit, a small frown appearing on his face. A moment later, his eyes fluttered open and he groggily looked around, before his gaze fell onto me. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked me quietly, suddenly a lot more awake than only moments ago.

"I'm fine, Harry, go back to sleep." I assured him, but he didn't seem entirely convinced. "Are you sure? You're not hurt or anything? Are you regretting it?" he asked me and reached over to take my hand into his. In all the months that I had spent with him, I had never seen him this vulnerable. I pressed a light kiss to the back of his hand, before I answered his questions. "I'm fine, Harry, I promise. I don't regret a single thing." I assured him and leaned over to connect our lips. He smiled into the kiss and then pulled me closer to him again, before pressing another light kiss to my forehead. "I love you, Claire." he whispered into the darkness and I could hear the smile in his voice. I snuggled deeper into the warmth of his body and in turn pressed a kiss to his chest. "I love you, too, Harry." I whispered back, before I felt myself slip off again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and Sweet, eh? ;)


	96. Sun Glasses Or Unexpected Phone Calls

When I woke up, Harry wasn't lying next to me. I sleepily blinked a couple of times to get used to the brightness in the room, before I spotted him standing in front of the window in his boxer shorts with his back to me. He was talking to someone on the phone and his posture gave away that it wasn't a pleasant conversation. "Shit, does it really look that bad?" he asked and run a hand through his hair, something which he always did when he was upset or excited. "And there's no point denying it?" He let out a loud sigh and his shoulders slumped, before he said his goodbyes to the person on the phone and carelessly threw it onto the sofa. 

"Is everything alright?" I asked quietly and he jumped a little bit, before he turned around to face me. "Shit, did I wake you up?" he asked and when I nodded, his face fell. "I'm so sorry, love, I didn't mean to wake you up." With three big steps he was in front of me and sat down on my side of the bed, his face buried in his hands. "I am so, so sorry, Claire." he apologised again and somehow I knew that he wasn't only talking about waking me up anymore. Carefully, I scooted towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What is it, Harry? What happened?" I asked him quietly and gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

When he looked up again, the look on his face started to scare me. "Before I tell you, I want you to know that I love you and that I wish this hadn't happened." he said and turned around, so that he was facing me on the bed. "Harry, just tell me." I pleaded and he took a deep breath, before he opened his mouth again. "We were... seen yesterday." I blinked a couple of times, the news not completely sinking in quite yet. "What do you mean 'we were seen'?" I asked him and then it hit me and I felt the colour drain from my face. "You mean...?" I asked him and when he nodded it was like someone had punched me in the gut. 

"Someone must have seen us fooling around between the vans and on the beach. There are photos and videos everywhere and apparently the got a pretty good shot of your face and put two and two together." Harry gently said and took my hands into his. "I am so sorry." he apologised again, but I shook my head and pulled my hands out of his grip. "Why are YOU apologising?" I asked with a dry chuckle. "You didn't do anything wrong, did you? That's the worst thing! I wish I could be angry at someone, but I can't! I fucking can't!" 

I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room, too upset to be bothered by the fact that I was still naked. "I can't be angry at you because I knew exactly what dating you means and it's not your fault that the paparazzi follow you everywhere. I also can't blame whoever took the photos and the videos because I know they only did their job and even though earning money by disrupting people's privacy is a pretty shitty thing to do, I can't blame them either because let's face it, who wakes up one day and thinks 'Oh, hey, I wanna be a paparazzi when I grow up'. Fuck!" 

I stopped in front of the window and threw a look outside between the curtains onto the bustling street downstairs. In the distance I could see the beach with the blue sea behind it. "Claire-" Harry began, but I held up my hand and he immediately shut his mouth again. "You know what? The only person I can blame for this whole mess is me. No wait." I said when Harry got up and opened his mouth again. "I am the one who has issues with this whole privacy thing, but the thing is, Lily was right." I let out a sigh and slumped down on the bed. "What did she say?" Harry asked softly and layed down beside me.

I turned my head to look at him and saw how worried he was, instantly feeling bad about my little freaking out. "She said something along the lines of 'One day you'll find someone and it'll be worth it because you love him so much.' when I asked her about the paps and Niall. And she was right." I admitted with a small smile, suddenly very shy again. "She was right." I had never seen Harry's face light up like this ever before. "God, I love you so much." he said, before pulling me over to him for a kiss. When we broke away, started to giggle.

He shot me a confused look which turned into one of amusement when I giggled even harder. "We're like one of these awfully lovey-dovey couples from a bad romantic comedy." I said in between giggles which made him laugh, as well. "But we're real." he whispered and I grinned widely, before he leaned in to peck my lips. "You're so incredibly cheesy, but I still love you." I told him with a wide grin and he pretended to be offended for a moment, before his eyes wandered down to my exposed body, and his lips curved into a smirk.

Maybe it was a good thing that Harry didn't have to be on set until lunch time because he probably would have been late otherwise. My flight was scheduled to leave in the early evening, so I would only drop him off on set and then drive back to Paris and my heart was already aching at the thought of leaving Harry again. My eyes wandered over the room one more time, lingering on the bed where I had just spent what probably had been the best night of my life, before I pulled the door close behind me and handed Harry the room card. Wordlessly, he intertwined our fingers and the lift ride down to the reception was silent, my head resting on Harry's shoulder who was carrying my back pack for me.

Before we stepped outside, he stopped me and let go off my hand. I tried to hide my disappointment, but before I could even take a step into the direction of the door, he gently cupped my face and pressed his lips to mine. This kiss had something desperate about it and I could feel that he was just as tense as I was. "There will be paparazzi outside and probably fans and they will scream your name and probably say some really nasty things to get your attention, but I want you to know that I love you no matter what and that I'll be by your side, alright? Whatever they say can't change the fact that I have never been so happy in my entire life." he told me seriously, a hint of a smile on his face, and I felt my lips pull into a small smile, as well. 

He dropped his hands and reached in the back pocket of his jeans to pull out a pair of sun glasses. I couldn't help but grin when I recognised his big white sun glasses which Lily and I kept laughing it whenever we saw them. "Here put these on." He handed them to me and his face momentarily split into a grin when I pushed them up my nose. "Looks better on you than on me." he commented with a grin and pressed another kiss to my lips, before he linked our fingers and threw me a questioning look. "Ready to face the enemy?" he asked me with a lopsided grin and looked down at me. I took a deep breath and gave his hand a light squeeze, which he returned. "Ready." I confirmed and with a last reassuring smile in my direction, we stepped outside.

*************  
It was a week later and I was sitting in a small cafe, trying to ignore the fact that I had a meeting with my tutor in an hour, who would tell me whether or not I had passed my degree and what grade I had achieved. An open book was lying in front of me, but I hadn't turn a single page since I had sat down at the small table. The little bell over the door rang and two girls entered, both in their late teens, and walked over to order something. One of them let her eyes wander around the room and her gaze lingered on me for a bit longer, before I lowered my gaze to my book again. Pretending to read my book, I secretly prayed that she hadn't recognised me. I had been stopped three times during the past few days and I hadn't even gathered the courage yet to look online. All three of my encounters had been very nice and I had been relieved that no one had been rude in any way, at least not yet. The question was how long things would stay this way.

I sipped at my tea and turned a page of my book without reading a single word, feeling the girls' eyes on me. A moment later, I heard two pair of footsteps coming my way, but I didn't look up until one of them cleared her throat. "Hi." the taller one of them said. She seemed to be the older one and definitely was the more confident out of the two of them. "Hi." I replied with a small smile and took another sip from my tea. "You're Harry's girlfriend, aren't you?" she asked me, her tone quite rude and very accusing. "I'm Claire." I replied with a sweet smile and held out my hand for her to shake. "And who are you?" I asked her and I could see that she was surprised by my reply. "Eileen, but that's not the point here." she replied and impatiently started to tap her foot on the floor, completely ignoring my hand. "So, are you with Harry or not?"

With a sigh, I closed my book and downed the rest of my tea. "Look, Eileen, I'm sure you're a nice girl, but don't you think it's quite rude to interrupt someone when they're sitting in cafe with a very private question, without even introducing yourself to them?" I asked her and when she opened her mouth to reply, I continued "I'm a fan myself, so the happiness and health of the boys is something quite close to my heart, but don't you think that it's their life and they should be with whoever they like?" I asked her and stood up. "I, um..." Eileen started and I gave her another sweet smile, before I pushed passed her and quickly payed for my tea. "Rude bitch. Harry deserves so much better." I heard her mutter behind her to the other girl who hadn't said a word the whole time.

"Excuse me?" I asked her and turned around, one of my eyebrows raised and a hand on my hip. "I said you're a rude bitch. You're just with Harry because you want your five minutes of fame to become a model or something like that, which you're way too fat and too ugly for, by the way, so you better fuck off before he drops you and looks for someone better." Eileen spat out and took a step forward, obviously expecting me to take a step back or to be intimidated in anyway. What she probably didn't expect was that I would start laughing at her face. "Oh, honey, I feel sorry for you." I said with a chuckle and patted her arm, before I pushed past her. "Have a lovely day, ladies." I said and the younger girl sent me an apologetic smile, before I stepped out of the door and left a shocked Eileen in the cafe.

Outside, I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I might have acted very cool and collected in front of the girls, but on the inside I was very shaken up by the blunt rudeness of Eileen, who most likely wouldn't be the last one. Having been part of the fandom for years, I knew that people like Eileen only represented a tiny, tiny part of the fandom, but I also knew that jealousy could bring out the worst in people and One Direction was very popular, so it was only natural that millions of girls, and boys, would die to be in my position. Plugging my head phones into my ears, I started my walk to the uni a little earlier than I had originally planned.

After I had spent twenty minutes pacing up and down in front of my tutor's office, she finally called my name. "Claire Winters, please!" I made a u-turn and followed her into her office, shaking like a leaf. "Have a seat, my dear." she told me with a smile and I gladly sat down, my fingers automatically starting to play with the hem of my t-shirt. "First of all, I would like to tell you that it's been a pleasure to have you here, Claire. I know that the past few months haven't been easy for you, but you have done exceptionally well despite the circumstances and you can be very, very proud of yourself." I felt my cheeks heat up at her kind words and thanked her quietly. 

"But I'm sure that's not why you came here today." she added with a laugh and then started to rummage through the big pile of big, brown envelopes in front of her. "Winters, Winters... ah, here you are." She pulled out a thick envelope from the very bottom of the pile and handed it over the table. With shaking hands, I took it from her hands and opened it under her watchful eyes. Inside were a couple of documents, but the most important one was the first one. My eyes wandered over the list of modules and numbers and stopped at the very last one, my eyes widening when I read it. "95?" I asked her and looked up from my dissertation mark. "Are you that's mine? Maybe you got it mixed up?" I asked her, but she shook her head and laughed. 

"No, on the contrary, your dissertation is the best one this year! And the rest of your marks are excellent, as well, so you'll graduate as one of the five people who have managed to achieve a First this year." she told me with a wide smile and I was sure I would be on the floor by now, if I hadn't been sitting on a chair already. "Holy shit." I mumbled quietly and looked back down at my marks. "Congratulations, Claire, a well deserved achievement." she congratulated me with a wide smile. "Thank you, Amanda." We shook hands and then she ushered me out of the door, as she still had a dozen of students waiting to receive their final marks. 

The first thing I did when I stepped outside was call my mum. "Hi honey!" she greeted me cheerfully and I felt a wide smile spread on my face. "Hi, mum." I replied and carefully walked down the stone steps which led up to the main building, before turning left into the local park. "Mum, I just received my marks and you won't believe what happened! I got a First! Me! Only four other people in our year achieved this and I got a 95 for my dissertation!" I squealed and quickly lowered my voice when a woman gave me a weird look. "Oh, Claire, that's wonderful! I always knew that you would be amazing, but you can be so proud of yourself, honey! And your dad would be so proud of you, too." she gushed and I felt my eyes fill with tears at the mention of my dad.

"Thank you, mum, but I never would have been able to achieve this without your support." I told her honestly and she immediately protested. "Nonsense, honey, but now, tell me: how are you and my favourite actor and singer doing?" she asked and I could hear the smirk in her voice. "He's doing fine, mum." I assured her with a grin and sat down on a bench. "Good, good, is her really such a good kisser as everyone says?" she asked me and I nearly dropped my envelope in surprise. "Mum!" She giggled and I heard Sally bark in the background. "I'm a little bit disappointed that you haven't told me anything, but knowing you, you two probably kept it a secret from everyone and we haven't really manage to talk that much lately, so I won't be crossed with you. But you two really have to come and visit me some time." she said in a slightly demanding tone and I suddenly had a mental image of Harry and my mum bonding over embarrassing stories of me. 

"Um, we'll drop by whenever he's free for a bit longer. He's very busy with filming at the moment." I explained to her and tried to swallow the sudden lump in my throat at the thought of Harry. "It's okay to miss him, honey. I'm sure he misses you, too." I smiled at my mum's kind words. "We try to talk on the phone every night. And he'll try to come up to England to see me and his friends and his mum and sister as often as he can, but it's really difficult for him to take some time off because it's such a big movie." I explained and she hummed. "He's such a lovely young man, Claire, I'm so happy that you found someone so wonderful." she said happily and I could hear the smile in her voice. "So am I, mum." I assured her, before we said our goodbyes and hung up. 

After sending a quick text to Lily and my uni friends, before I dialed Harry's number, a wide smile on my face. However, it quickly vanished when a woman answered the phone and not Harry. "Hello, Harry's phone." she giggled and I felt as if somebody had punched me in the guts. "Um, hi? This is Claire, can I talk to Harry, please?" I asked her politely, while I was silently screaming "Why are you answering my boyfriend's phone?". There was a shuffle and I heard a voice which sounded awfully like Harry's in the background. "He's a little busy at the moment." Another giggle and something hit the floor in the background. "But should I give him a message from you?" she chirped into the phone and I felt my heart beat very loudly, drowning out her happy voice. "Yes, please tell him that his girlfriend called." I replied shortly, before I hung up on her.

After I had hung up, I sat on the bench for a full five minutes and tried to wrap my head around what had just happened. A very big part of me wanted to take the first plane to France to confront Harry and this was also the part who tried to make me believe that he was cheating on me. However, a tiny voice at the back of my head questioned why Harry would feel the need to cheat on me after waiting for me for that long and telling me that he loved me. Did he just wait until he got what he wanted and now decided to drop me after he had gotten me into his bed? I mentally slapped myself for even thinking like that, even though my heart felt very bruised suddenly. 

My happy mood had officially been ruined and I gathered my things and slowly walked to through the park, before I decided to see if one my friends was free to celebrate. The first person who picked up was Ed. "Hi, love." he greeted me cheerfully and I instantly felt my lips tug into a small smile. "Hi, Ed. What are you up to?" I asked him, trying to sound as casual as I could. "Not much at the moment, why? Have you missed me?" he joked and I laughed. "Of course, I did, you idiot!" He chuckled. "I just unofficially got my degree and I was looking for someone to celebrate it with, are you free right now? I need someone to help me take my mind of things." He stopped laughing when he heard my sour undertone. 

"Hey, are you alright, love?" he asked me, his tone laced with concern. "I'm fine, but can I come over?" I asked him and he agreed at once. "Of course, where are you at the moment? Do you wanna meet up in a pub in town or something and then maybe move on to a bar later on? We could invite some other people, as well, to celebrate, if you like? I could call some people." he suggested. "That sounds amazing, thank you. I'm in a park near UCL." I explained. "Oh, that's perfect. I know a great, kinda hidden pub just around the corner where we could grab a pint and some food." I smiled at his excited suggestions and then agreed to meet him at the pub in about an hour, before we both hung up.

When I entered the pub about an hour later and looked around, I saw Ed sitting at a big table in the back corner and he wasn't alone. Liam, Niall, Lily, Louis, Milena and Nick Grimshaw were also sitting at the table and when Liam spotted me they all cheered, catching the attention of the rest of the pub who gave me curious stares. "Hi everyone!" I waved happily and was immediately pulled into a hug by the nearest person which happened to be Niall. "Congratulations, love, I knew you had in you." He pressed a light kiss to my cheek and I grinned up at him, before Lily pretty much shoved him out of the way to pull me into a hug herself. "Thanks Niall." I said over her shoulder and he only winked at me, before he squeezed Lily's butt who squatted his hand away, before she flipped him off over her shoulder, making everyone laugh. "I'm so fucking proud of you." she whispered into my ear. We let go off each other and I was handed over to Nick, Liam, Louis and Milena who all hugged me and congratulated me.

"Ed, my saviour!" I pulled Ed into a tight hug which he returned, before he pressed a light kiss to my cheek, and shoved a drink into my direction. "Congratulations, love. Here, you sounded like you needed it, earlier." he added the last part more quietly and I shot him a thankful look, before I downed the contents of my drink. After everyone had settled down, I ended up sitting between Ed and Niall who was sitting around the corner. "We waited until you were here to order some food. Anything in particular?" Niall asked me and leaned forward to hear me better over the loud chattering around us. "Um, I think I'll just have some chips, I'm not too hungry." He raised an eyebrow at me and shot me a slightly alarmed look, before he asked the rest what they wanted and walked up to the bar to order for all of us. 

"You okay?" Louis mouthed over the table and I pulled a face, before I nodded. "Wanna talk about what happened earlier?" Ed asked quietly into my ear and gave me a concerned look. We both leaned back and I swiftly recounted my weird phone call. There was a short silence. "Look, I know how bad this looks, but I know Harry very well and I don't think he would ever cheat on someone. I also know for fact that he's way too in love with you to sacrifice your relationship for a quick shag with someone on set." His tone was serious and his eyes showed nothing but honesty. "I know, Ed, but it's just..." I felt my cheeks heat up and I averted my gaze, instead looking down at my hands. "We, um, you know, eh, slept with each other not that long ago and a very insecure part of me tries to make me want to believe that he got what he wanted and now found someone better, you know?" I admitted.

When I looked up, I saw Ed's blue eyes already looking down at me. "Look, I obviously don't know what happened with Harry and I also don't know what happened to you to make you think so low of yourself, but I can assure you that Harry would never ever do that to a woman. He respects women too much to do that, so don't worry about that too much, alright? I'm sure there is a good explanation for it, so just wait for him to get back to you and don't worry too much about it, alright?" I nodded and he gave me a reassuring smile, before he leaned over the table and started a conversation with Liam, leaving me alone with my thoughts. 

After the food had arrived, the atmosphere became more relaxed and everyone ate and chatted among each other, before we moved onto drinks after about two hours. I had already had quite a lot as Ed was buying a round after another and was starting to feel it quite a bit. By the time we all decided to leave and move on to a club, I had to hold onto Ed to stop myself from stumbling. He had an arm wrapped around my waist and I was clinging onto one of his hands, when we stepped out of the pub into the night. 

The second we all stepped outside, we were blinded by flashes and I heard Ed curse beside me. I slipped on the pavement and was caught by Ed just in time. Of course, the paparazzi had a field day and kept shouting questions in my face. "Claire, are you hooking up with Ed while Harry's gone? Claire, are you taking drugs? Claire, are you pregnant?" In front of me, Louis had Milena tightly wrapped in his arms and the other guys tried to shield us girls from the cameras as we all climbed into the taxi. "Shit, that was nasty." Liam commented when the taxi drove off in the direction of the club. Everyone nodded in agreement and I leaned my head against Ed's shoulder who gave my thigh a light squeeze, before starting a quiet conversation with Nick who was sitting next to him in the backseat.

When arrived at the club, we managed to sneak in through the back and all ended up at the bar where we did another round of shots, before I pulled Ed, Nick and Liam onto the dance floor. Louis and Milena seemed to having a very deep conversation and Niall and Lily had started making out, so there was no point asking them. The three of them did a great job at dancing with me, spinning me around and just generally pulling the most ridiculous dance moves which made all of us double over in laughter. Secretly, their goals must have been to cheer me up and celebrate with me because they did an amazing job at that. 

When we returned to the bar we all ordered another drink, before I suddenly felt a little bit dizzy and had to lean into Liam for support. "Whoa, easy love." He caught me, before I could fall to the floor and wrapped an arm around my waist. "I think you've had enough to drink." he said gently and carefully removed my drink from my hand, before he had a quiet conversation with Ed and Nick which I didn't quite understand over the music. Louis and Milena were no where to be found and Lily and Niall were in their own little world on the dance floor, so Ed quickly texted them, before the four of us made our way to the back door of the club.

Once again we were greeted by paparazzi and Liam cursed quietly, pulling me closer into him to keep me on my feet, as we followed the other three who pushed themselves through the crowd to the waiting taxi. Nick slammed the door shut as soon as Liam had climbed in after me and the driver pulled into the busy traffic as swiftly as possible. "Are you alright, love?" he asked me concerned and eyed me warily from the other side of the car. I only nodded and let Liam put on my seat belt for me, before I leaned my head onto his shoulder. "I'm sorry for getting so drunk." I apologised quietly and sent the others an apologetic look. "I had a shitty phone call right after I left uni and kinda lost count of how much I've had to drink." I explained, my words slightly slurred, and I had to close my eyes for a few seconds as another wave of nausea hit me.

Liam ended up carrying me up to my flat where he made sure that I had a glass of water, a bucket for any potential puking and an advil on my night stand. "You gonna be alright, love?" he asked me and waited in the hallway as I got changed into my pyjamas and then helped me brush my teeth, before he tugged me into my bed. "You're too good to me, Liam." I mumbled and he smiled down at me. "No, I'm just taking care of a friend. I'll send Soph around tomorrow morning because I'm not sure Lily will come home tonight and even if she does, she probably won't be able to take care of you if you need someone." he smirked before he turned the light of. "Good night, Claire." he whispered and a few seconds later, I heard the front door close behind him. If I had known how fast paparazzi can come up with a story and how widely our little night out had spread already, I might have had more problems falling alseep, but as it was, I blissfully slipped off into the darkness.


	97. Harry Styles' Broken Heart?!

THE SUN, Dan Wootton

HARRY STYLES' BROKEN HEART?!

As we could exclusively reveal last week, Harry Styles (22) who is currently filming in Dunkirk, France, has gotten himself a new girlfriend. His current catch is the 22 year old politics student Claire Winters. The couple is rumoured to have met through mutual friends and Harry seemed to have taken a real liking with her. However, it seems like their relationship was quite short-lived as Winters was spotted getting cosy not only with one, but two of Harry's close friends last night. 

She and a group of friends, consisting of two former band mates of Harry's Louis Tomlinson (24) and Niall Horan (22) with his girlfriend Lily among others, went out to a pub and then moved on to a club last night where she seemed to be getting very close to both Liam Payne and Ed Sheeran.

Witnesses say that she clung onto Ed and held his hand when they left the pub and was later seen dancing closely with Harry's ex-band mate Liam who she later left the club with, both holding hands and just generally looking very cozy. "He had his arm wrapped around her waist and she was visibly enjoying his touch." said a witness who had spotted the pair at the club. 

Only a few weeks ago, Winters first appeared in a photo Harry had posted to Instagram where she looked very close to Ed Sheeran, so it is unclear if she's playing all three or is merely friends with Ed. 

Does Harry know what his girlfriend is doing while he is gone? Is she trying to add as many celebrities to her list as possible after she had Harry wrapped around her finger? We can only speculate and let the photos and videos speak for themselves, but it's safe to say that Harry Styles should probably be more careful about who he falls in love with...


	98. Missed Phone Calls Or The Morning After

The 'morning after' or as I liked to call them hell on earth were never fun. When I finally managed to open my eyes, it was past ten pm and the sun was already casting her bright light across the room. I vaguely remembered Liam dropping me off last night and was overcome with a wave of gratefulness when I saw the advil and the glass of water on my night stand. After I had taken the pain killers, I slowly stood up and waddled into the kitchen in my pyjamas, where I made myself a cup of tea. While I waited for my tea to cool down a little bit, I made a short trip to the bathroom where I spontaneously decided to take a quick shower after a look into the mirror.

Back in the kitchen, I remembered that I hadn't checked my phone since seven o'clock last night and unlocked it before sitting down on one of our kitchen chairs. When I took a closer look at the notifications on the screen, I nearly dropped my phone. For some reason, I had received over twenty calls and fifteen text messages, most of them during the last three hours. With shaking fingers, I looked through my caller list and noticed that half of the calls where from Harry. I also had received several from Ed and Liam and another number which I didn't recognise. The text messages mainly contained messages of said three to call them, so I started with Harry.

He picked up after two rings. "Claire?" he asked, desperation in his voice. "Harry, hi, you decided to call me back?" I asked him in a somewhat snippy tone and took a small slip from my tea. "You were the one who didn't answer- no, wait a second. What you mean 'call me back'?" he interrupted himself, obviously confused. "Excuse me? I called you yesterday and some girl picked up the phone and said you were busy when I clearly heard you in the back ground. I asked her to tell you to call me back, but you didn't and then I went out with some friends and didn't really check my phone until now." I explained and absentmindedly started to drum my fingers on the table.

"You called me?" Harry asked bewildered and I snorted in response. "You're kidding right? Some girl answered your phone all chirpy and giggling and you could clearly be heard in the background, Harry." I said in a defeated tone and I heard him take a deep breath at the other end of the line. "Claire, I love you, so whatever it is you think might have happened never did. I accidentally left my phone in the make-up trailer yesterday and one of the girls must have picked it up. One of them, Aimee, seems to like me, but I never gave her any indication that I like her more as a friend and I would never ever cheat on you, Claire, you must believe that. She probably saw your name and noticed that I wasn't paying attention and took the chance to mess with my love life a bit because she's jealous. But I am kind of disappointed that you would even think something like that about me in the first place."

There was a short silence during which I tried to process everything he had just said. After a few seconds of silence, I finally spoke up again. "I'm sorry, Harry." I said quietly and heard him sigh at the other end of the line. "It's fine, love. But the reason why I tried to call you this morning was another one. Your little night out is all over the Internet and people are freaking out because it suspiciously looks like you were getting very cozy with both Ed and Liam." He sounded bitter and his words were like a punch in the guts. "What do you mean?" I asked him and pulled my laptop towards me and turned it on, while trying to remember what had happened last night. Most of it was a bit of a blur after we had entered the club, but I vaguely remembered feeling dizzy and needing some support.

"There are photos of you and Liam and you and Ed holding hands and clinging onto each other all over the fucking Internet, Claire. Do you even know how bad that looks? How bad this makes Liam and Ed look? And me? I look like a complete idiot who is being fooled by a girl who's only looking for some fame!" he spat out. Trying, not to freak out and say soemthing I could most likely regret later, I opened the Internet and typed 'Claire Winters' into the search bar. The first thing that came up was an article by The Sun and what I saw made me feel sick. I scanned the horrendous article and then scrolled down to the photos and the video.

"Claire, are you even listening?" Harry's voice seemed to be very far away. "I'm still here." I confirmed and clicked through the photos which allegedly "proved" that I was cheating on Harry. "Harry?" I asked quietly, after he had finished another rant. "Yes?" he replied, his tone still angry and bitter. "Can I talk for a minute now?" I asked him and bit my lip to stop myself from adding something else. He grunted in response and I took a deep breath. "I unofficially passed my degree yesterday with the best mark in my whole year. That's why I tried to call you, I wanted to share this with you. But when I called you, I was greeted by Aimee, or whatever her name is, and then you didn't call back so I rang Ed and he agreed to meet me in town with some friends to celebrate. In the pub, I talked to Ed about my insecurities and he told me that you'd never do anything like that, but a tiny part of me still told me that I'm just not good enough for you, so I decided to have a couple of drinks and was already very drunk when we left the pub, hence my clinging onto Ed. 

In the club we had another few rounds of shots and then Grimmie, Ed and Liam tried to distract me and we all danced for a while, before we went back to the bar where we had some more drinks. Unfortunately, I had had a little bit too much to drink and started to feel dizzy and Liam was standing next to me, so he caught me and then decided to take me home with the others. The photos of me and him holding hands is from when he tried to get me into the taxi without carrying me and his arm was wrapped around my waist because I couldn't even walk properly. I was a drunk mess and he helped me. Nothing else happened, I swear. 

So, then, um.... I think Ed and Grimmie dropped us off at my flat and I can vaguely remember that Liam helped me into bed and promised me to send Sophia over this morning. So whatever Dan Woottoon, who is -as you very well know by the way- the last person to trust on stuff like this, is saying is a pile of bullshit which he and the others made up to make money. I would never cheat on you either, Harry. I sometimes tend to drown my pain in alcohol, which isn't really the best coping strategy, but Ed and Liam were only being amazing friends when I needed someone to take care of me." I tried to tell him as calmly as possible. While I was recounting the events from last night, my memories seemed to gradually come back and I was happy that I could confidently tell him the true story.

After I had finished, there was a short pause and the only thing which could be heard was Harry's breathing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." he said after what seemed like hours. He sounded tired and in that moment I wished he wasn't so far away from me. "You weren't the only one to jump to conclusions, Harry, and the photos look really bad, so I can't really blame you." I tried to assure him. There was another short pause during which both of us seemed to collect their thoughts. "What is the best way to deal with this mess?" I asked him quietly after a few seconds and took another sip from my tea which was cold by now. "I have been on the phone all morning, and so have Ed and Liam. Both of their managements have probably tried to contact you, most likely Liam's, because they need you to be aware of their cover story or explanation. I think the best thing you can do is to call both Ed and Liam, probably Liam first, and talk to them. I can't really help you from over here." he said in a defeated tone, obviously unhappy with the whole situation.

"Alright, I'll ring them in a minute, thank you." I told him and heard someone call something in the background. "I've gotta go, love, but congratulations on your degree. I'll call you again, when I'm done with the next scene, alright?" he asked me. I quickly called out, before he could hang up on me. "Harry?" There was a shuffle and I thought he hadn't heard me, but then he replied after a moment. "Yes?" I took a deep breath and loosened my tight grip on my kitchen table, resting my hand on my thigh instead. "I love you." I told him in a quiet tone and felt a small grin appear on my face. "I love you, too, Claire." he said without hesitation, before he hung up on me, but I could have sworn that he sounded a bit happier than he had seconds before.


	99. Don't Give Up On Us Or Promises

The disastrous drama which our little night out had caused had happened over a week ago, but I still hadn't dared to go online and I had avoided being seen in public, as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't avoid going to work any longer, so I was currently stuck on the Tube where I was squeezed between two sweaty teenage boys who obviously hadn't discovered deodorant yet. The train came to a sudden halt and I promptly fell into the teenage girl in front of me who glared at me as if I had fallen into her on purpose. My heart fell when a look of recognition crossed her face, before her pretty face pulled into a wide sneer. "Watch where you're going, slut. No wonder, you had to move on to Ed and Liam after Harry dropped you." she spat at me and crossed her arms in front of her chest, giving me a sweet smile, before taking out her phone.

"Excuse me, please." I said to the woman in front of me and swiftly pushed past her to escape the Tube, even though I still had one stop to go. Keeping my head down, I pushed through the crowd and finally made it to the exit, letting out a sigh of relief. Picking up my tempo, I rushed through the streets to work and made it just on time, slightly out of breath, but at least not bothered by another person on my way. My boss shot me a weird look when I dropped my bag off in the staff room and pinned my name tag to my blouse. "Claire, could I talk to you for a minute?" she asked me and I felt my heart sink when I saw the look on her face.

I followed her into her small, personal office where she offered me a seat, before she closed the door behind us and sat down behind her desk. "Claire, you are one of our best members of staff and an excellent receptionist." she started off and gave me a small smile, but her tone told me that wasn't the reason why she had called me into her office. "I, um, I don't know how to put this...." she trailed off and I stayed quiet and watched, my hands clasped tightly together in my lap. "Eh, I am aware that I have no say in your private life, love, but your, um, relationship with Mr Styles caused some, um, negative reactions last week which have not only affected him, but also you and your reputation. And unfortunately, the reputation of our staff reflects on the hotel and for this reason we sadly have to ask you to leave." she finished and sent me an apologetic smile.

I was completely in shock. "I... I'm fired because of who I'm dating?" I asked hesitantly, needing her to explicitly confirm it to me again. She nodded and gave me a tight smile. "Unfortunately, your reputation and actions reflect badly on our hotel and we can't allow that to happen. I am very sorry, Claire, please know that this wasn't an easy decision." Feeling numb, I only nodded and got up, my boss copying my actions. "You can leave your name tag in the staff room. Your last pay check will be sent to you within the next few days." After another fake smile in my direction, she shut the door behind her and I made my way back to the staff room, where I removed my name tag and left my staff card on the table, before I walked back outside onto the bustling streets of London.

My whole body seemed to be in a state of shock and I aimlessly walked through London's inner city, until I was nearly hit by an ambulance which unexpectedly drove around a corner. "Oi, do you wanna jump in the back?" one of the paramedics shouted out of the window and I jumped, suddenly snapped out of my state of indifference. "Sorry." I mumbled embarrassed and quickly looked down at my feet when I felt the stares of the passersby. 

After this incident, I finally decided to return home, hoping that Lily wouldn't be home because I didn't really felt like talking. The only thing I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry. I missed Harry, who I had talked to every single day since our little fight, and I have had one of the worst days ever so far and was craving his soothing touch and calming hugs. As soon as I had entered the flat, I called for Lily who seemed to be out and immediately made my way to my room, where I slumped down on my bed and burst into tears.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but I must have been crying for a while when my phone rang. "Hello?" I sniffled and tried to sound like I hadn't spent the last hour or so crying on my bed. "Claire, are you alright, love? Are you crying?" Harry's concerned voice sounded through the speaker and I had to bite my lip to stiffle another sob. "No." I whimpered, but a loud sob escaped my lips, making my obvious lie even less believable. "I know you're lying, Claire, please talk to me. What's wrong? Can I help you in anyway?" he sounded so concerned and his voice made me miss him even more.

"Someone called me a slut today and I just got fired from my job for being with you." I cried into the phone and wiped my tear-stained cheeks with an already damp and crumbled tissue. "They what?! I am so sorry, Claire, I am so, so sorry." Harry sounded heartbroken. "It's not your fault." I sniffled into the phone and I heard him sigh at the other end. "It kind of is. Is there anything I can do to help you?" he asked me and I nearly held back the words I said next, but then said them anyway, even though it broke my heart in the process. 

"I don't know if I can do this anymore, Harry. I love you so, so much, but I don't know how much more I can take. I can ignore the hate online, but I won't be able to hide from the outside world forever and I don't think I want to spend the rest of my life being called a slut whenever I leave the house. And I don't want to lose, or only get a job, because of you, Harry. I am so sorry." I cried into the phone, unable to hold back my tears. "No, no, no, don't you dare to give up on us right now, Claire, don't you fucking dare!" Harry sounded angry and hurt, but before I could say something else he continued.

"I know that this situation sucks and I know that I come with a lot of baggage, but I love you so much Claire, and I can't bear the thought of losing you. Yes, dating me won't be easy, but you are so incredibly strong and we've already mastered far more difficult situations together, so please don't give up now. We're a team, Clairy. Please don't give up on me." he pleaded and I could tell from his voice that he was crying, as well. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't do this right now. Take care." I whispered into the phone, before I hung up on him, feeling like the most selfish person who had ever walked this earth. But I felt like I would break if I didn't put myself first for once in my life.

I must have fallen asleep because I was woken up by loud knocking on our front door. "Open the fucking door, Claire! I know you're in there and I won't leave until you let me in even if it means that I'll have to wait out here all night!" Harry shouted through the door and I jumped to my feet and quickly made my way to the front door. "I swear to God, if you don't open this fucking door right now, I will-" I interrupted him by opening the door. His eyes widened when he saw me and before I could even blink, he had pulled me into a tight hug. "Please don't give up on us, Claire, I can't lose you." he whispered into my ear and pulled away a little bit, to cup my face with his big hands.

"Harry, I..." I whispered, but he shut me up with his lips. This kiss held all the hurt I had put him through during the past few hours, but it was also filled with a lot of passion and love and withing seconds I felt myself melting into his embrace. When we had to pull away to catch our breathes, he rested his forehead against mine. "I love you so much, Claire, please don't give up on us. We can work through this together because I love you and I know that you love me, too, and we are so much stronger than the jealous haters out there. Please." he whispered, his warm breath fanning over my face. 

"Please, Claire." he pleaded, his green eyes filled with tears. "Why do you make this so fucking difficult?" I asked him shakily and gently placed my hands on his chest, one of my fingers hooking through his cross necklace. "Because I don't want to lose you. I've never felt like this way about anyone else and as cheesy as it sounds, I believe in soul mates and I am pretty sure I have already found mine." Harry replied, his green eyes burning into mine. "When I thought I had lost you earlier, I felt like someone had pushed me off a cliff without warning me about the impact and it was the worst thing I've ever felt in my whole life." he admitted quietly and gently wiped a tear away which had escaped my eyes.

Inside, I was fighting a silent battle with myself. My heart was telling me to just kiss him already and to keep fighting for our relationship and the special bond that we shared, while a tiny voice at the back of my head reminded me off the risks and the hurt I would have to go through in order to be with him. In the end, my heart won. Life wasn't about taking the easy way out. It was about taking risks and living in the moment because the most important things in life were love and friendship and in Harry I had found both. He had made me happier than I had ever been before. 

"I can't give up on us either." I whispered and the look on Harry's face would be one I knew I would never forget. "I love you more than it's healthy for me, Harry, and I don't know how I deserve such an amazing man by my side, but I will fight for us, as long as you'll have me." I told him quietly and without hesitation, he leaned in for another kiss, our lips saying everything we couldn't say out loud. "I love you so, so much." I whispered and gently run a hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry for being so selfish, earlier." I apologised and averted my gaze, instead looking down at our feet. 

Harry, however, gently placed one of his long fingers underneath my chin and forced me to look up at him again. "You are the least selfish person, I know, love. You were shocked and hurt and scared and I probably would have reacted the same way, if I were you. But please, promise me to fight for us, no matter what the world throws at us." he said lowly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a small smile, before I replied. "I promise." I said quietly, before my lips met his, somehow wandering off to my bed room in the process, where we spent a night during which both of us showed the other one just how much we loved each other.


	100. Rings Or How Harry Had The Best Shower Of His Life

I was woken up by an alarm Harry must have set before he arrived because I couldn't remember setting one myself. "What time is it?" I mumbled sleepily and groggily opened my eyes. "It's 6am, go back to sleep, love." Harry replied quietly and pressed a light kiss to my forehead. "Are you leaving already?" I asked him and sat up, making the duvet dropping from my shoulders, and I felt goose bumps appear on my bare arms. "I have to be at the airport in two hours which means that I'll have to leave in an hour." Harry explained, looking down at me with a sad look on his face. "I'll make us some breakfast then and you can take a shower." I mumbled sleepily and pushed the duvet down my naked body.

I climbed out of bed and felt Harry's eyes on me without even having to turn around. "Harry, shower." I reminded him in a teasing tone and leaned down to pick up my under wear from the floor. When I came back up again, Harry was standing in front of me in all of his naked glory. "You could join me in the shower?" he suggested with a smirk and gently cupped my cheek with his hand, grazing my lips with his thumb. "You'll never make it to the airport on time if we shower together." I halfheartedly protested and desperately tried to keep my eyes on his face.

"But think about all the water we could save if we showered together." Harry mumbled and let his other hand slowly travel down my back, while his lips started to trail feather-light kisses down my neck towards my breast. "And all the fun we could have..." he continued. "Harry..." I moaned quietly, my body immediately responding to his touch. "Shower?" he asked against my skin and looked up at me through his long eyelashes. "Hmmmm..." I could only mumble and with a victorious grin, he lifted me up in a swift motion and carried me into our bath room as quickly as his legs could carry us.

When we emerged from the steaming shower twenty minutes later, he wrapped me into a fluffy towel, before wrapping one around his waist, as well. His arms wrapped themselves around my body and he rested his chin on my shoulder, both of us facing the mirror. "Why did you ever doubt that we couldn't be enough?" he whispered, a frown appearing on his beautiful face. His hands gently stroked my stomach through the towel, while he waited for an answer. 

"It just always seemed so unlikely that someone like you ever could love someone like me, Harry. I am not a very confident person and your life in the spot light scares me, so yesterday when I was feeling lonely and was being treated to badly simply because I fell in love with you, I suddenly questioned if we could really make it 'til the end, you know? I felt like you deserved someone better who is better at handling the fame and attention which comes with being with you. But you made me realise that some things are worth fighting for."

I turned my head to look up at him, and he gently turned me around in his embrace, my towel dropping to the floor in the process. "You are so much more important to me than you know, Claire. You don't give yourself enough credit. I love you because of who you are and even if I had the choice to be with someone else, I would always choose you because you make me feel like home. I will always fight for you." he admitted quietly and instead of saying something, I simply pulled his head down to me and pressed my lips to his, trying to savour this moment for the next few weeks which I would spend without him.

Only very reluctantly we finally got dressed, a process which took even longer than usually because I had to chase Harry around my whole flat after he took off with my clothes. When we were finally fully clothed, we only had twenty minutes to spare for a short breakfast and decided to both eat some muesli as it would need the least time to prepare. "Do you have any idea what kind of job you want to do now?" Harry asked in between bites and warily eyed the contents in his bowl. "That's only a date, Harry, it won't kill you." I said with an amused grin and he shot me a look, before he hesitantly shoved the spoon into his mouth. "And to answer your question, I honestly don't know. Maybe I can help with some research at the uni or something like that over the summer while I apply for a Master somewhere in the city." I explained and he nodded, while inspecting another date which had found a way into his bowl.

Fifteen minutes later, we were both standing in the hallway next to Harry's packed Tom Ford bag which had probably cost more than at least two months rent. Silently, he pulled me into a tight hug and buried his face in my neck. "I love you so much, I wish I didn't have to leave again." he mumbled and pulled away a little bit to press a sweet kiss to my forehead. "I love you, too. I'm sorry that I made you fly all the way here just because I was so stupid and insecure and-" But Harry cut me off with a kiss which I returned withing seconds. "Stop apologising, love. If I hadn't come I wouldn't have been able to have what probably was the best shower of my entire life." he said and his lips pulled into one of his famous smirks. "Oh shut up." I scolded him, but he only laughed and pressed another kiss to my lips.

"You should go before you miss your flight because of me." I said sadly and took a step back, but he gently grabbed my arm and stopped me. While my eyes were focused on his face, I saw him fiddling with something from the corner of my eye and when I looked down he had something in his hands. "Here, take this and think of me when you wear it." he said and pushed a cool object into my hand. When I opened it, I realised that it was one of his rings and I felt myself tear up. "Harry, I can't..." He placed a finger over my lips and effectively shut me up. "Shhhh, keep fighting for us, alright?" he said and pressed one last kiss to my lips, before he picked up his bag and opened my front door. "I'll see you in three weeks." With one last wave, he closed the front door behind him and I heard him climb down the stairs.

Suddenly, my body came back to life and I grabbed my keys, before I sprinted down the stairs and reached the pavement just in time to see Harry climb into the passenger seat of a taxi. "Harry!" I shouted and he looked up again, his whole face lighting up when he saw me standing in front of him with my wet hair and my bare feet. Within seconds, he was back out of the car and had pressed his lips to mine for a final kiss. "I love you, Harry." I whispered, before I pulled away and watched him climb back into the car, my right hand tightly clasped around his ring I was wearing on my left middle finger. He raised his hand in a wave and gave me one last smile, before the care disappeared around a corner, leaving me behind with an aching heart, my lips still tingling from our kiss.

When I arrived back upstairs in the kitchen, I cleaned the table and did our dishes, before I checked my phone. Lily had texted me and apologised for not warning me about spending last night at Niall's and I had also received a text from Milena. "Hi, can we talk? xxx" it read and I instantly invited her over for a cuppa tea, very curious as to what she wanted to talk about. Somehow I had a feeling that it had something to do with Louis, but I couldn't say for sure. She replied minutes later telling me that she'd be over at my place in half an hour and I went back into my bedroom to tidy up a bit, before she came around, last night playing on my mind for the next few minutes.

About forty minutes later, my door bell rang. With a smile I opened the door only to reveal a pale Milena standing in the hallway outside. "Hi, come on in." I invited her into the flat and she greeted me with a hug, before she took her shoes off and followed me into the kitchen. "How are you doing, my friend?" I asked her with a smile and gestured to one of the kitchen chairs, before I placed to big steaming mugs of tea in front of us. "Good, good. I just got my degree results yesterday and I managed to get a 2:1!" she told me proudly with a happy smile on her face. 

"That's amazing, congratulations, 'lena!" I reached over the table and gave her arm a light squeeze. "Thank you, of course not as fantastic as your result, but still not too shabby." I shook my head. "Oh stop it, a degree doesn't mean anything. Look at our idiotic pop star friends! Most of them didn't even finish school and they are still not completely stupid. A 2:1 is nearly a first, so you should be super proud of yourself." I told her emphatically and laughed when I saw a hint of a blush appear on her cheeks.

"Sooooo, what did you want to talk about?" I asked her and gave her an encouraging smile, before she averted her gaze and instead looked down at her tea. "I don't even know how to start this." she sighed and took a big sip from her tea, before she looked up at me again. "Alright, risking to sound like the worst friend in history, here it goes: I kind of like Louis. Not as in 'I'm a fan and I really like him', but as in 'he's an amazing person and I really kind of fancy him and could imagine a future with him'." she admitted, her cheeks turning dark red. "I feel so guilty, Claire! I know that he's your ex-boyfriend and I am your friend and I really, really shouldn't be falling for him and I think Louis might like me, too, but he doesn't want to hurt you either, but we, um, we kissed at our night out and I have felt so incredibly guilty ever since, but I didn't know how to tell you this. Please don't hate me!" she pleaded and I could see that she was at the verge of crying.

"Milena?" I asked her carefully and she re-emerged from the behind her hands. "You're one of my best friends, I could never hate you." I told her gently and she visibly relaxed. "Usually I would be all for acting according to the girls code, but you two are two of my best friends and I was the one who felt guilty for breaking it off with Louis and then starting something with his best friend, you know? I only wish him all the happiness in the world and I couldn't be happier if he found someone as amazing as you." I told her and gave her hand a light squeeze. "Really? You're not angry?" she asked me, an astonished look on her face. "No, of course not! I couldn't be happier for you two! I actually think you two are perfect for each other." I added with a wink and she blushed even more.

"You have no idea how relieved I am." she admitted and gave me an embarrassed smile. "So, what happened between you two at the club? You just disappeared and I was too drunk afterwards to remember anything." I admitted sheepishly, but still wiggled my eyebrows at her, making her laugh. "Um, we talked and joked around for a while and then he asked me if I would want to accompany him outside for a smoke and I agreed and somehow we ended up kissing in the corridor which leads to the back door for a bit." she giggled and quickly took another big sip from her tea. 

"Um, Claire? Don't get me wrong, but I have noticed that you tend to get completely wasted whenever you have a massive problem on your hands, so are you alright?" she asked me cautiously and now it was my turn to blush. "I'm fine now, thanks for asking though... I, eh, I know that drinking isn't a solution, but sometimes it helps to numb the pain even if it's just for a couple of hours." I explained to her and buried my face in my hands. "I just don't want to bother anyone with my problems so instead of dealing with them, I try to forget about them." I mumbled into my hands.

"Claire?" Lily asked softly and I hesitantly peeked at her between my fingers. "You are not a burden for anyone and I am sure all of your friends, including me, are always here for you if you need someone to talk to. But maybe talking to a therapist would help you? Someone who isn't directly involved in your life and just listens to your problems?" she suggested and I slowly let my hands sink into my lap. "Maybe I should look for someone..." I agreed and gave her a thankful smile. "Thank you." Milena returned the smile. "Any time, that's what friends are for, right?"

We chatted for two more hours, until we heard Lily's key unlocking the front door. "Hello my favourite flatmate!" she called from the hallway and smiled at us when she spotted Milena sitting at the kitchen table. "Oh, hello, there. How are you doing?" she asked her and pulled her into a one-armed hug, before she pressed a kiss to my cheek and continued to unload the bag of food she had brought in with her. "Niall and I went food shopping." she explained after she noticed our looks. "He told me to buy whatever I wanted because he was paying and...", she pulled out a big tube of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, "because it's food, I used him and his money for the first time in our relationship. Who can say no to an offer like that?" she giggled with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"You're evil!" I laughed at her and then stood up and peeked into the bag to inspect what she had bought. "You bought mousse au chocolate?!" I squealed excitedly and lovingly looked down at the box in my hands. "You are so weird." Milena commented from the table and downed the rest of her tea. "I think I have to go now, sorry Lily, it's not because of you." she explained and Lily placed a hand on her hip. "Hmmmm... sure." she winked at Milena who just rolled her eyes and pulled me into a hug. "Thank you for the tea and the great conversation. And for being so understanding." I smiled at her and followed her to the front door. "Of course, any time." 

After she was gone, I returned to the kitchen where Lily had started to prepare an avocado sandwich. "Oooooh, someone's eating healthy today." I joked and she flipped me off, without interrupting her sandwich making. "So, how's my favourite Irish friend?" I asked her and walked over to the sink to rinse mine and Milena's mugs. "He's doing very well." she replied with a grin. "He's working on some songs at the moment for a solo album next year." she told me proudly and placed the plate with her sandwich on the kitchen table. "Oh, exciting! I'm sure his album will be great, he's got a good taste in music." I commented, before quickly wiping the mugs dry with a towel. 

"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages, are you alright?" she asked me and took a huge bite out of her sandwich. "Is that Harry's ring?" she suddenly added and I nearly dropped the mugs I was about to put back into the cupboard. "Um, yes." I confirmed with a sheepish smile and took a seat opposite her. "It's a long story." I said with a smile and she gestured for me to go on, while she continued to much on her sandwich. 

Five minutes later I had finished telling her the story. "So he flew all the way to London for a couple of hours just for you? And he basically told me that you're his soulmate? And he gave you one of his rings?" I nodded. "Wow, you're one lucky bitch." she said with a wide grin. "I also understand where you're coming from, but I am so happy you decided to keep fighting, C. You and Harry are clearly meant to be." she said and pulled my hand towards her. "Oh, I love this one! It's your favourite one, as well, isn't it?" she asked me with a smile and I nodded. "It only fits on my right hand because it's obviously not made for my small hands." I said with a grin and gently traced the word 'peace' which was engraved in the ring. "So... you up for some friends episodes?" she asked me after she had finished her sandwich. I nodded excitedly and basically bounced towards the living room with a laughing Lily hot on my heels.


	101. Ice Cream Fights or Well Played

Louis' POV:

I was sitting outside in the hot English sun and tried to concentrate on lyrics for a new song, quietly humming a new tune which I had just come up with. My song writing session was interrupted by the door bell ringing and I put the pen down and pulled me up with a sigh, before I stepped back into the coolness of my house. When I opened the door, my lips automatically tugged into a smile when I saw Milena standing in front of me. "Hi, love." I greeted her and saw her blush, before her eyes wandered down and I remembered with a grin that I was only wearing a pair of cut off jeans shorts. "Hi, Lou." she smiled shyly at me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Come on in." I invited her into my house and opened the door a bit wider for her to step into my cool hallway. "Leave your shoes on, we can sit outside. Would you like something to drink?" I offered her and walked into the kitchen where I opened the fridge. "I can offer you water, coke, beer, um, orange juice and margaritas I made last night." I listed the contents of my fridge and felt my lips tug into a smile when I saw her curiously looking around my kitchen. "Milena?" I asked her quietly and she jumped and turned her head in my direction, a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "I, um, water is fine, thank you." she replied with an embarrassed smile.

I filled a glass of water for her and then gestured her to follow me through my living room outside onto the patio, where we both sat down at the table. Her eyes wandered around my garden and lingered on the swimming pool for a bit, before her eyes fell onto my open notebook page filled with my scribbling. "Oh, did I interrupt you?" she asked and took a sip from her water. "You are never interrupting me, love." I assured her and she blushed, before smiling back at me. "Anything I can help you with?" she asked and leaned over to me to have a better look, her hand brushing against mine. 

I wasn't sure if she was embarrassed about our little make out session at the club a couple of days ago, but didn't know how to address the topic. "Eh, I dunno. It's still in the very early stages." I explained and reached around her to pull the notebook closer to me, accidentally making her fall into me. "Ooops, sorry." she apologised and looked up at me with flushed cheeks. "No problem, love." I assured her and closed the notebook, before pushing it away. 

"I talked to Claire yesterday." she suddenly blurted out and I felt my heart beat pick up. "She, um, she said she's happy for us and that she wouldn't want to stand in our way." Milena explained without looking at me, still leaning against my chest. "Does that mean... does that mean you'd want to kiss me again?" I asked quietly into her ear and she sat up and grinned up at me. "I think it does, Mr Tomlinson." she replied with a grin and pulled my head down with her hands, before her lips met mine. 

Kissing her was just as good as I remembered it. I gently tucked at her bottom lip, asking for entrance which she granted me instantly. "Wow!" she breathed out after we had pulled away to catch our breath. I grinned down at her and nodded. "I think I'll have to agree with you on that one, love." I replied with a smirk. She grinned up at me and I gently stroked her cheek with my thumb. Milena was definitely someone I could see myself falling in love with. Claire would always be important to me, but she was happy with Harry and I needed to move on, as well, and Milena had managed to make me feel alive again, something none of the girls I had been with during the past few weeks had managed to do.

"Fancy some ice cream?" I asked her out of the blue and grinned when her whole face lit up. "I could eat some ice cream." she smiled up at me and hopped off the bank after me. Her hand automatically slipped into mine and I pulled her back into the cool house, enjoying the feeling of her hand in mine. "I have chocolate, strawberry and fudge flavour." I told her and reluctantly let go off her hand to take two bowl out of my cupboard. "Um, I think I'll go for chocolate." she decided and I took the tube with chocolate ice cream and the one with fudge flavour out of my freezer, before starting my search for the special spoon to get the ice cream out of the tubes. 

"Looking for this?" Milena asked me with a smirk and held up the spoon with a wide grin. "Perfect, thank you." I thanked her and reached for the spoon, but she gave me a cheeky grin, taking a step back. Raising an eye brow at her, I placed the ice cream on the kitchen isle and took a threatening step in her direction. "You sure you wanna start this right now, love?" I asked her and she nodded and winked at me, before she took off into the hallway. "You can't win!" I shouted behind her and started to chase her. When she saw me behind her she squealed and started to run up the stairs, me hot on her heels.

Never having been in my house before, she had zero orientation and turned left to open the first door she saw, which happened to be my bed room. I used her short moment of hesitation and wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her up. She squealed and begged me to put her down, but I only cackled loudly and carried her into my bed room where I dropped her onto my bed. Both of us were panting heavily and she grinned up at me, while I hovered over her, the spoon tucked safely behind her back. 

"I win." whispered, before I lowered my lips down to hers and slowly run my hand down her arm to her hand with which she was holding the spoon. Milena, however, seemed to have guessed my next move and suddenly rolled us over, before jumping up and dashing out of the room back down the stairs, laughing like a maniac. I groaned loudly, before I followed her down the stairs. I found her in the kitchen, where she was innocently scraping ice from the tube, before dropping it into the two bowls. 

She didn't look up, until I wrapped my arms around her from behind and placed a light kiss just underneath her jawline. "Well played, love." She grinned up at me and silently handed me my bowl, before putting the remaining ice cream back into my freezer. "Let's go back outside." I suggested and linked our hands again, before walking through my living room back outside onto my patio where we both sat down on my bench. 

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon cuddling on my bench, while chatting about everything that came to our minds, until she threw a look at her watch. "Shit, is it already that late?" she asked and sat up. "Do you have to be somewhere?" I asked her, unable to hide the disappointment in my voice. She untangled herself from me and shot me an apologetic look. "I kind of promised my parents to skype them tonight, I'm sorry, Lou."she apologised. I sighed in defeat, knowing how much I always missed my family when I was abroad. "It's fine, love. Come on, I'll walk you to the front door." I assured her and followed her back inside where she placed her empty bowl and glass into the kitchen sink, before she walked to the front door.

"Thank you for coming over, love. It was a nice surprise." I said with a smile and after a moment of hesitation, pressed a light kiss to her lips. I felt her smile into the kiss and wrap her arms around my neck. "I enjoyed it, too, Lou. A little bit surreal, but without doubt one of the best afternoons I've had in a very long time." she replied with a grin, before letting go off me and picking up her purse. "I'll see you soon, love." I assured her, before I opened the door and watched her walk down the little path to my front gate. Before she turned around the corner, she threw one last look over her shoulder and waved at me. I raised my hand and she blew me a playful kiss, before disappearing behind my neighbour's hedge, leaving me standing in my door way with a wide smile on my face.


	102. Family Dinner Or How I Regretted Wearing A Skirt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I giggled like a weirdo throughout this chapter so I hope you enjoy it as well. ;) All the love, S xx

A month had passed and I had not only managed to survive these weeks without Harry by my side, but also managed to find a new job as a research assistant until September. My official graduation was tomorrow and Harry was about to land in London any second. People had somehow managed to find out that my graduation ceremony was this weekend and had put one and one together, so there was a small group of fans who were watching me curiously from a small distance, giggling and taking photos of me. My phone vibrated in my pocket and when I unlocked it, I saw that I had received a text from Harry. "Landed safely, can't wait to kiss you. Xxx" A big smile appeared on my face and I sent him a brief text with a warning of the group of fans who were waiting next to me.

Fifteen minutes later, the screaming of the girls next to me increased and my heart felt like it would leap out of my chest at any second. His eyes wandered over the crowd, before they found mine and his face split into a wide grin. Without breaking our eye contact, he increased his pace and opened his arms for me, when I started to sprint towards him. The world around us seemed to disappear in that moment, as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me so that his lips met mine. "God, I've missed you so much." Harry mumbled quietly against my lips and pulled me closer to him, his hands caressing my back and hair. "I've missed you, too, Harry." I replied with a wide grin and pressed another kiss to his lips, before I let go off him and linked our fingers together. 

Suddenly, I became aware of the fans who were standing not too far away, all of them filming and taking photos of us while whispering excitedly among themselves. "You can go over for a bit, I'll go and pay the parking fees and then we'll meet at the exit, alright?" I offered him. He shot me a questioning look and when I nodded, he pressed a kiss to the back of my hand and let go off it, before putting on his best smile and walking over to the fans. Letting go off him so soon after I had just gotten him back was difficult, but I knew how important his fans were and I had been a fan for years, before I met him so I would never be a clingy girlfriend in situations like this, especially since they had been so respectful so far.

Five minutes later, Harry joined me at the exit, leaving behind a small crowd of excited and very happy girls who probably just had the best five minutes of their lives. "Made some people happy?" I asked him with a small smile and he nodded happily, before his hand slipped into mine and he followed me to Lily's car which I had borrowed to pick him up. "I talked to your mum on the phone this morning." I told him with a grin and he raised his eyebrows at me. "How come that you talk more to my mum than I do?" he asked with a smile, but he seemed secretly happy that I was getting along so well with his family. 

"She insisted on coming down to London for a family dinner tomorrow night because she really wants to meet my mum, as well. Oh, and Ed's throwing a garden party on Sunday." I chatted away happily, while Harry was watching me with an amused smile. "Sounds like you've already planned my little holiday at home all out." he commented with an amused grin. "I left you the Saturday to do whatever you want to do." I said with a smirk and he chuckled. "Why thank you, love." He gave me a light nudge, which I returned, and then heaved his bag into the trunk, before opening the door for me. When he had made sure that I was comfortably seated, he walked around the car and gracefully climbed into the passenger's seat. "Home?" I asked him and he nodded and gave me a wide smile, before he replied. "Home." 

What Harry didn't know was that his mum and sister were already waiting in his house with a freshly cooked dinner. Robin unfortunately had to work, but I knew that Harry would be more than happy to be able to spend more time with his family. When we pulled into his driveway, he frowned in confusion when he saw that the lights in the kitchen and hallway were on. "Do you know who could be in my house, love?" he asked me and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from grinning like an idiot. "No idea, but there's only one way to find out, right?" I asked him and he nodded with a worried look on his face, before taking his bag out of the back of the car and cautiously walking up the stairs to his front door.

When he opened the door, the delicious smell of a cooked dinner hit us and suddenly two people jumped out of the kitchen and yelled "Surprise!" Harry let out a very unmanly shriek and pushed me behind him, until he realised who was standing in front of him. Gemma nearly died because she was laughing so hard and Anne was crying because she was so happy to see Harry again. "Mum! Gemma! What are you doing here?" Harry asked excitedly and dropped his bag to pull both of them into a tight hug. 

"We thought we could come a day earlier and surprise you." his mum replied and secretly wiped her eyes, before she pulled me into a tight hug, as well. "Claire, my love, come here. It's so good to see you again!" She pulled me into a tight hug which I gladly returned, before she let go off me and handed me over to Gemma who hugged me, as well. "Thank you for keeping this a surprise." she thanked me with a grin and then smirked at Harry who was now taking off his shoes. "I wish I had recorded your reaction, Harry, I haven't heard you shriek like this in years! Not since Mrs Puddington made you-" she started with a grin, before Harry tackled her to the ground clasped his hand over her mouth, effectively shutting her up. 

"Let go off me!" Gemma pushed his hand off and they fought for a couple of seconds, before Anne interrupted them. "Gemma, Harry, stop acting like you're five! Harry, go upstairs and unpack your bag; Gemma you can come into the kitchen and help me, and Claire, honey?" I tore my eyes away from the pouting siblings and gave her a smile. "Would you mind helping Gemma place the plates and cutlery on the dining table?" she asked me with a kind smile. "No, of course not!" I instantly agreed and followed her into the kitchen, while Harry carried his bag upstairs, not before sticking out his tongue at Gemma who flipped him off, before following us into the kitchen, as well. 

"You two are impossible." Anne said to her daughter with a shake of her head. She handed her a pile of plates and me a handful of cutlery, before shooing us out of the kitchen. "So, you and my brother are finally out in the open?" Gemma asked after a couple of seconds while we set the table and I felt my cheeks flush. "Yes, it's been quite a ride." I admitted honestly and remembered the countless of people who had treated me differently because I was dating 'THE Harry Styles from One Direction'. To me he was 'just Harry' by now and even though I was still a fan of his music, I was too good friends with him and the rest of the boys to get a proper fangirl attack. At least that was what I liked to tell myself. I hadn't been able to proof this theory yet, as none of them had released anything new since last November.

"I've never seen my brother so happy." Gemma suddenly interrupted my thoughts. "He makes me really happy, as well." I told her with a wide smile which she returned. "It's been really difficult for me with him being gone for so long, but I'll have to get used to that in the long run, haven't I?" I asked her and pulled a face. "How have you managed to survive it over the past years?" I asked her and she carefully placed the last plate at the end of the table, before she looked up to me.

"It was really hard, especially at the beginning. He was still my little baby brother and he was so young when he was swiped away to London and then went on one world tour after another, hardly ever getting the chance to visit us at home." She was quiet for a moment, lost in thought. "But I'm also so incredibly proud of him, you know? He is doing what he loves and he is so good at it. I really couldn't be prouder of him." she said with a warm smile. I walked around the table and pulled her into a hug. 

"You're an amazing sister, Gemma. And I feel exactly the same, to be honest. Sometimes, I wish Harry was doing an ordinary job, but I am so freaking proud of him and so happy for him that he can follow his passion and live his dream that I would never even dream of standing in his way." She pulled away a little bit and smiled down at me. "I am so happy Harry's found you." she said and let go off me. "So am I." Harry interrupted our moment and we both turned around, only to find him leaning against the door frame of his living room. "Children, the food won't carry itself to the table!" Anne called from the kitchen and the three of us shared an amused look, before we trotted into the kitchen to help Anne with the food.

"This was amazing, mum!" Harry complimented his mother about twenty minutes later and leaned over the table to press a light kiss to her cheek. "Thank you, honey, I thought I should cook your favourite." she said with a light blush and beamed at us. I felt Harry's hand place itself on my thigh and I shot him a look, which he returned with an innocent grin, before I focused my attention back on Gemma and his mum. "So, do you have any plans for the future now that you have your degree?" Anne asked me with a kind smile. "I will apply for a Master at several unis here in London next week, as soon as I officially have my degree." I explained to her. 

I was slightly distracted by Harry's hand which was wandering up my thigh and I suddenly became very aware that I was wearing a skirt. "Oh that sounds great, love. Do you already know in which direction you would like to go after uni?" Anne continued to quiz me. I discretely tried to push Harry's hand away, but he only gave me an innocent smile and then started to gently stroke me through my underwear, making it nearly impossible for me to keep up the conversation. Gemma sent me an amused grin when she saw my eyes widening, but still Anne seemed to be unaware of her son's attics and was waiting for an answer.

"Um, I'll, eh... I was thinking about working for an NGO or maybe even the UN, if possible. But I don't know what will happen yet, so I'll just have to wait and see." I replied and slightly shifted on my seat, which didn't really help the situation under my skirt at all. "I, um, excuse me for a minute, please." I said with flushed cheeks and literally fled to the toilet. Inside, I splashed some cool water into my face and looked at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were visibly flushed and I was silently cursing Harry for his actions. Not having seen him in a month had been difficult enough as it is, but I had been craving his touch since he had walked out of my flat a month ago and the last thing I wanted was to get increasingly turned on in front of his sister and especially his mother.

"You alright, honey?" Anne asked me with a kind smile, when I returned to the living room two minutes later. I assured her that I was fine, before shooting Harry a glare who only smiled at me as innocently as he could and pulled my chair out for me. The gesture seemed kind and innocent to anyone else, but his hand secretly brushed my thigh, before he took his seat next to me again. "Are any of you up for dessert?" Anne asked us, completely unaware of what had just happened. Gemma and I nodded eagerly, before everyone turned to look at Harry. "I am always up for dessert." he agreed with a sly grin, his eyes never leaving mine. "I haven't had any in a while." he added with a wide smirk and wet his lip, thoroughly enjoying my reaction to his words.

"Oh, really? I thought you had a very good catering service on set and the hotel you stayed at wasn't too shabby either, was it?" Anne asked with a confused look on her face and Gemma started to giggle next to her. "I think Harry's just joking, mum. Maybe he should go and get the dessert from the kitchen." she said with a smirk and Harry finally looked away from me to glare at his sister. With a sigh, he stood up and carried the first load of dishes back to the kitchen, before he returned with a big bowl of trifle which made our mouth water. After he had returned from the kitchen for the second time, four small bowls and spoons in his hands, he filled everyone's bowls, before sitting back down next to me.

"So tonight's gonna be special, after you haven't had any proper dessert in months." Anne commented with a smile in Harry's direction, who nodded and sent me a wink, before he replied. "Very special, thanks mum." he thanked her innocently, before turning his attention back on me and licking off his spoon, his green eyes never leaving mine. "Oh, give her a break, Harry, I wanna eat." Gemma interrupted him from the other side of the table and he shot her another innocent look, before he continued to eat his trifle, occasionally stealing glances in my direction which made me appreciate the fact that his family was still in the room.


	103. Ear Plugs Or Reunions

I woke up with Harry's arms wrapped around me. We didn't have to be at the uni until the early afternoon, so we hadn't set an alarm. Judging by the bright sun which was shining into the room, it was already quite late. Downstairs, I could hear Anne and Gemma talk, but Harry still seemed to be sleeping, his breath tickling my neck in a steady rhythm. I closed my eyes again and snuggled deeper into him, enjoying the feeling of his warm body pressed against mine. Something about my actions must have disturbed his sleep because a couple of seconds later, I felt his eyelashes flutter against my skin and smiled when I felt him press a light kiss to my shoulder. 

"Morning, love." he greeted me in a low voice and I slightly turned around to face him. "Morning." I smiled up at him and felt his hand gently caress my bare stomach, tickling my skin. He grinned when I squirmed a bit and then started to tickled me. "Harry, stop it!" I squealed and tried to escape his grip, but he only laughed and continued to tickle me. "Harry!" I squeaked even louder and he let his hands wander down to my thighs, suddenly hovering over me.

A loud knock on his bedroom door interrupted us. "I don't want to be rude or anything", said Gemma's voice through the door, "but I really don't need to listen to you two having sex for a second time this morning." We could hear the amusement in his voice, but I was mortified. "We'll be downstairs in a minute." Harry assured his sister through the closed door, before we could hear her footsteps wandering down the stairs again. With a chuckle, he rolled off me and sat up. 

"God, I am so embarrassed." I groaned and hid my face in my hands. "Don't be, it's not like they didn't know we weren't doing it already. And I hadn't seen you in a month, so I don't really think they expected anything else, to be honest." he said with a smirk and leaned over to press a kiss to my cheek, before he climbed out of the bed and walked over to where he had dropped his clothes the night before.

After a moment, I followed him and copied his actions, quickly getting dressed, before I started to search for a hair brush in my small overnight bag. "Do you have a hair brush I could borrow?" I asked him and looked up at him. "I even have a couple of spare hair ties here somewhere." he replied with a grin and held out a hair brush for me with which I tried to untangle the mess which Harry had created last night. "Here let me help you." his voice said behind me and he gently took the hair brush out of my hands and started to untangle my hair. 

"Thank you." I mumbled quietly when he was finished. As a reply, he pressed a light kiss to my neck, instantly sending shivers down my spine. "Any time, love. Now, let's go downstairs and face the teasing my sister will most likely welcome us with." he said with a grin and intertwined our fingers, before he pulled me down the stairs into the kitchen. "Good morning, you two." Anne greeted us and handed both of us a cup of tea after we had sat down opposite her and Gemma. "Morning, mum." Harry greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and reached over the table for the toast.

"Did you have a good night's sleep?" I asked Anne and took a sip from my tea. "After you two kept it down, yes." she smiled at me and I nearly spit my tea back out at her reply. "You didn't really think I wouldn't notice after your actions during dinner last night?" she asked us, her eyes wandering over to Harry who seemed completely unfazed by the whole situation. "Oh God, Anne, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to-" I started off, but she interrupted me with a kind smile. "Don't worry about it, love, I'm glad you two are in a healthy relationship. Just keep it down the next time or buy me some ear plugs in advance. As much as I love my son, that's not something a mum wants to hear." she said with a grin and I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

I buried my face in my hands and felt Harry wrap his arm around my shoulder. He gently pulled me into him and pressed a light kiss to my temple. "Don't be embarrassed, love, I wouldn't change a thing about last night." he whispered into my ear, making me smile into my hands. Slowly, I let my hands sink to my lab and leaned my head against Harry's shoulder, while Anne watched us with a big smile on her face. "You two are just too adorable." she gushed, while Gemma pretended to puke next to her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Harry poking out his tongue at Gemma. "I'm sorry, Anne." I apologised again, but she waved her hand through the air and shook her head. "Don't sweat it, love, like I said: I'm happy for you two, just buy me some ear plugs." she replied with a wink and I smiled at her, before I concentrated on my toast in front of me.

The rest of the morning went by very quickly and suddenly it was time for me to go back to my flat to get changed and somehow pick up my mum, as well. "We could pick up your mum and then meet you at your flat, if you'd like to." Harry suggested as he watched me try to tie my shoes. "Um, I..." I hesitated for a second, but Anne who had been listening from the kitchen poked her head out of the door. "I am sure your mum won't mind and I am really excited to meet her." she smiled at me and I nodded in agreement. "Alright, thank you." I pressed a kiss to Harry's cheeks, before picking up my bag. "I'll see you in an hour." I smiled up at Harry, who insisted on giving me a "proper goodbye kiss", before he let me go.

An hour later, I was surprisingly already ready to go and nearly fell down the stairs on my way down to the front door, when I heard Harry's car in the drive way. "Mum!" I shouted and nearly tackled her to the ground when I pulled her into a tight hug. "Claire, honey, I am so proud of you, darling!" She swayed me from side to side and I heard her breath hitch. "I missed you so much, mum. I'm sorry for not driving up to see you in such a long time." I sniffled into her shoulder and tried to blink away my tears to avoid ruining my make up. 

She pulled away a little bit and gave me a wide grin, before she let go off me. "I know how busy you are, honey, don't worry about it. And it was such a nice surprise to meet Anne and Gemma already." she beamed and exchanged a happy look with Anne who was watching us. "You ready to go, love?" Harry asked me quietly and pressed a kiss to my temple. "Just gotta pop upstairs to get my purse." I promised him and he nodded. "Is it okay with you if we all drive in my car? I know that Lily's already on her way to pick up Niall, so we would all fit into my car." he asked and I nodded. "Absolutely, give me two minutes." I told him with a grin and dashed back upstairs, while Harry burst out laughing behind me.

When all five of us were safely sat in the car, Harry carefully pulled out of the parking lot, while Gemma, Anne and my mum happily chatted in the back. My mum had insisted on sitting next to Anne and I was a bit worried about what kind of embarrassing stories the two of them might be exchanging in the back. Gemma was seated behind Harry and seemed to occasionally press her knees into his seat because he kept shooting her angry looks through the rearview mirror.

When we had safely parked at the university, I let my eyes wander around the big crowd of people who were scurrying around the car park. "Maybe you should try to keep a low profile." I turned my head to look at Harry who reached over the gear shift to give my leg an encouraging squeeze. "Don't worry about me, love. There are so many people here, I'm sure no one will care about me." He assured me. "Are you meeting the others somewhere?" my mum asked from the back of the car and I nodded and turned around in my seat. "We're all meeting in the back room of the auditorium. Maybe you should try to meet up with Niall somewhere." I added in Harry's direction. "Oh, and Louis!" I suddenly remembered and grinned. "He and Milena are official now, aren't they?" he asked with a grin and I nodded.

Milena had been incredibly nervous when they had told me, but I had simply pulled both of them into a hug. They both really deserved each other and I was so happy that Louis had found someone who could love him back in the way that he deserved to be loved. The fact that she was one of my best friends was only an added bonus. "Lou just texted me and said that he found Niall. They're waiting at the exit of the car park." Harry said without looking up from his phone and quickly typed an answer into his phone, before shoving it back into his pocket. "Ready to face graduation?" he asked me with a smile and gently cupped my face. "Nope, let's do this!" I said in a fake cheerful tone and I heard the others laugh in the back. "You'll be fine, honey." my mum assured me from the back, before we all hopped out of the car.

I instantly spotted Niall and Louis. They were both standing in the shade of a big oak tree, trying to blend in with the crowd as much as possible, but failing miserably. "Hello, love." Niall greeted me cheerfully and pulled me into a hug. "Hi, Nialler. How is my favourite Irish friend doing?" I asked him and poked his stomach. "All good, all good." he replied with a twinkle in his eyes. Behind me, Anne and my mum had greeted Louis and were already enthusiastically chatting with him. 

I cleared my throat and his blue eyes fell on me. "Claire, you look bloody amazing!" he complimented me and pulled me into a hug. "Thanks, Lou. You don't look too shabby yourself." I joked and he rolled his eyes. "Everything good between 'lena and you?" I asked him more seriously and smiled when his eyes lit up at the mention of his girlfriend. "As good as they can be." he assured me and winked. "But you better go and find her, Lily and the others." he added and I nodded and quickly informed my mum and Anne, before I turned to face Gemma, Harry and Niall who were having their own conversation. "I gotta go, but I'll take my phone with me and we'll meet up somewhere after the ceremony, alright?" I asked Harry and he nodded and quickly pecked my lips, before I hurried off to the find the others.


	104. Peter Pan Or Apology Accepted

The first one who pulled me into a hug, was my mum. She didn't say anything and after a few seconds, I realised that she was crying. "I am SO proud of you, honey!" she cried into my shoulder and hugged me even tighter. "Your dad would be so proud of you, as well! I am sure he is watching you from up in the sky right now." she whispered into my ear, before she let go off me. "Congratulations, love." Harry pulled me into a tigh hug, as well, before pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Thanks." I mumbled, mildly embarrassed by all the attention I was receiving.

I had been called on stage for a second time with the four other people who had gotten a First and had gotten standing ovations from my friends and family. Louis had shouted something inappropriate which had gotten him a smack on his head from Harry and a loud laugh from Niall. Fortunately, it had been difficult to make out where the noise had come from in the big crowd, otherwise they might have gotten into trouble.

Next to me, Louis and Niall were kissing their girlfriends, as well, while Gemma, Anne and my mum were watching them with amused grins on their faces. "Congratulations, honey." Anne said with a wide smile, when she noticed that Harry had finally let go off me, and handed me a little boquet of flowers, making me tear up again. "Thank you so much, Anne, you really didn't have to get me anything." I thanked her and pulled her into a tight hug. "No problem, honey, we're all very proud of you." she gushed and then handed me over to Gemma who pulled me into a hug, as well.

When we had all congratulated each other, we went over to the small park next to the main buikding to take some photos. My mum insisted on taking one big group photo and ended up asking a young girl, who agreed instantly when she noticed Harry, Louis and Niall among our group. "Could I, um, could I maybe get a photo with you three?" she asked shyly after she had taken the photo and blushed madly. "Sure, love, what's your name?" Louis instantly agreed and pulled her shaking body into a hug. "Mel." she mumbled and blushed even deeper when Harry and Niall pulled her into a group hug. "Claire, would you mind taking a photo of the four of us?" Louis asked me and handed me her phone. "No, not at all." I instantly agreed with a smile in mel's direction and two minutes later, a overjoyed Mel run back to her family, after promising to not post any photos until later.

"Oh, we need a group selfie of the young people." Harry said with a grin in Anne's direction, who shook her head at him. "We'll wait at the cars." she said with a smile and linked arms with my mum and Lily's mum and started to chat with them, while Lily's dad trailed behind them and threw us a helpless glance, before they disappeared in the crowd. "Alright, people!" Louis called out to get everyone's attention. "Everyone gather around young Harold here for a group selfie!" We all started laughing, when we saw the look on Hary's face and Louis ducked behind Niall, before Harry could do anything else, other than glare at him. 

Still giggling, we all tried to get everyone into the shot, which turned out to be more difficult than it seemed. "Harry needs to be in the middle, he's holding the phone." Lily said from the back and gently pushed me to the front when she noticed my feeble attempt to hide behind Harry. In the end, we managed to get everyone into the photo, all looking a little bit squeeched, but very happy. "We probably shouldn't post it until we're safely in the car, before you get mobbed." Gemma suggested with a concern look around the crowd, which seemed to consist of a lot of young girls. "Good idea, let's go then." Harry agreed and took my hand in his, before pulling me along through the crowd to our car.

Because our flat was so small, we all agreed to meet up at Harry's place for celebrations, or at least some of us. Lily and her parents had dinner reservations and had invited Niall to join them, but Milena's parents hadn't been able to make it, so Anne spontaneously invited her and Louis to our family dinner, as well. "Are you sure Mrs Twist?" Milena asked her with an embarrassed smile. "I don't want to be a burden." Anne, however, gave her a kind smile. "Nonsense! Louis is like a second son to me and you seem to be a lovely young lady. Oh, and please call me Anne, love!" she assured her with a smile. Louis gaver her hand a reassuring squeeze and whispered something into her ear which made her blush, before the two of them disappeared into the crowd to find his car.

The dinner was wonderful. Harry had decided to invite everyone and we had all ordered pizza from my favourite Italian restaurant which also occasionally did deliveries. Because there wasn't enough space at the table, we were all spread out across the sofas, with everyone having their own conversations. "You alright?" Harry asked quietly into my ear and leaned over me to steal a piece of my pizza. "I'm alri- oi! That's my pizza!" I protested and pushed him off me to the amusement of the others. He pouted, while I glared at him, before I took an extra large bite, my eyes never leaving his. 

"Claire doesn't like to share food." my mum commented from the other side of the room where she was sitting next to Anne. They seemed to be getting along very well and had been chatting among themselves all night. "Yes, we may have noticed that already." Louis piped in from the armchair where he was cuddling with Milena and I threw my napkin at him. "Claire, don't throw stuff across the room." my mum scolded me and Louis' face broke into a wide grin. "Yeah, Claire, behave yourself!" he cackled and winked at me, before he happily continued to eat his pizza.

When I looked up to Harry, I saw that he was biting his lip to keep himself from laughing. "Don't." I told him through gritted teeth and he pretended to lock his mouth, before he leaned to press a light kiss to my forehead. "You two are so adorable, you sicken me." Gemma said dryly from her spot on the floor and pretended to be disgusted at us. "I know, right? You can't even enjoy your food with them in the room." Louis called over from his safe spot, but Gemma quickly dismissed him. "Oh, don't even get me started on you two." she said with a smirk in his and Milena's direction, making the latter blush.

After everyone had finished their pizza, we gathered all of the ice cream we could find in Harry's house and ended up watching Peter Pan. About ten minutes into the movie I remembered something and quickly untangled myself from Harry, before sneaking into the hallway to get my phone from my purse. "Where did you go? Are you okay?" Harry whispered into my ear and when I held up my phone and nodded, he smiled down at me and pulled back onto his lap. 

I spent the next minutes looking through Google on the search for the photo which had just come to my mind. When I found it, I opened the photo and showed it and the caption fans had created to Harry, who looked at the phone for a couple of seconds, then at the screen, and then back at the phone, before he realised what I was trying to say. "You are so weird, but I love you." he chuckled quietly, before he loosened his grip on me, so that I could sneak over to Louis.

"Lou?" I asked him quietly and he reluctantly turned his head in my direction, obviously very engaged by the movie. "I found this photo ages ago, I'm sure 'lena remembers it as well, from one of your shows and I just remembered it because we're watching this movie and, well, see for yourself." I handed him my phone and his face scrunched up in confusion when he looked at the screen. "What do you...?" he started, before a look of realisation crossed his face. "Oh, OH." His face split into a wide smile and he grinned up at me. "People really think that?" he asked me and Milena who was smiling down at the photo. I nodded and then carefully took my phone back, before I hopped back onto Harry's lap.

The light which was coming from the TV was barely illuminating the room, but it was enough to see the big, happy smile on Louis' face and that was enough to make my night. "Sometimes I think he's the youngest of my friends." Harry whispered into my ear, his eyes lingering on his friend, as well. "He may be twenty-four but deep down he is still a kid at heart." I hummed in agreement and snuggled deeper into his chest, letting my eyes wander around the room. My mum caught my gaze and smiled at me. She didn't even have to say anything, I knew what she was thinking. I blew her a kiss and she shook her head at me and mouthed a "love you", before she focused her attention back on the screen.

Later that night, Harry and I were lying together in his bed, his fingers lightly drawing random patterns onto my bare stomach, while we were facing each other. My mind was wandering off and I suddenly remembered something I had been wanting to tell Harry for weeks. "Harry?" I asked him quietly out of the blue. "Hmmmm." He looked up at me and even in the darkness I could make out his green eyes which were staring at me with curiosity.

"I am sorry that I ever considered that you could cheat on me." I apologised and his finger stopped moving, simply resting on my skin. "It's not because I ever believed any of the rumours about you; I never did. My problem is that I don't deal with problems, I just push them away, you know? And I have only had one boyfriend so far and Sam cheated on me throughout the whole time that we were together and I just couldn't bear the thought that I had trusted the wrong person again too soon. I was in the wrong and very harsh on you for no reason and I would like to apologise for what I said."

Even in the darkness, with only the moon casting its light into the room, I could see Harry's lips tug into a smile. But I didn't look at his lips to see his smile; I didn't have to. His eyes were saying everything he couldn't say in that moment. "Apology accepted." he said with a warm smile and leaned over to me to press his lips to mine. When he pulled away, he gently pushed a loose strand of hair out of my face, before he shot me a very serious look.

"But I want to make one thing clear, love." One of his hands gently cupped my cheek and his thumb lightly touched my lips, before he continued. "I would never ever cheat on you, Claire. Never. Why would I screw up the best thing that's ever happened to me?" he asked with a crooked smile, before I pulled him back over to me and we continued where we had left off not too long ago.


	105. Lamp Pols Or Blueberry Fights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but sweet

Someone up in the sky seemed to be having a good day today. The sky had been painted in an almost electric blue colour and the sun was shining brightly, luring everyone into the various green spaces which London had to offer. "Are you REALLY sure we won't get mobbed?" I asked Harry for the what seemed to be the 100th time and I heard him let out a loud sigh, before he turned around.

"Claire, listen to me." He gently cupped my face, his green eyes looking down at me with a mixture of sternness and amusement. "If I didn't think that we wouldn't be able to have a nice time without being disturbed, I would have suggested my back yard, but I didn't alright? I've been to this park before and it's big enough to find a quiet spot where no one will bother us." He pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, before he let go and intertwined our fingers. 

"By the way, you look exceptionally beautiful in that dress." he whispered into my ear and I felt my cheeks heat up. He chuckled lightly and locked the door behind us, before we joined our mums and Gemma, who were already waiting in the drive way. "Come on, lovebirds! Martha made some delicious looking sandwiches earlier which I am dying to try." Gemma said with a grin in our direction and hooked her arm around mine, effectively locking me into the middle of a Styles sandwich. 

"Oh that's something I need to capture." Anne said with a grin when she turned around and spotted the three of us walking behind her in a row. Obediently, we stopped and smiled into the camera for a photo. "Oh, I have an idea, take one more!" Harry piped in before she could put her camera away. He leaned around me and whispered something into Gemma's ear who nodded with a wide grin, while I stood in the middle and watched them with a suspicious look on my face.

"Okay, on three: one... two... three!" Anne said. At "three" both Gemma and Harry pressed a kiss to my cheek, making my eyes go wide with surprise. My mum and Anne chuckled at the surprised look on my face, while Harry nearly died of laughter next to me. "You.. two..." I shot Gemma a glare to which she responded with an innocent smile, before I let go of Harry's hand and placed both hands on my hips. "So you think you're funny, don't you, Harold?" I asked him and impatiently tapped my foot on the ground, while he tried to keep a straight face.

"Yes, I am hilarious." he said proudly and leaned forward to pinch my cheek. I looked at his hand which had just pinched my cheek and then back up at his face. "You shouldn't have done that." I said with a mischievous grin on my face and Harry's smile turned into a fearful look, before he dashed off down the street, with me right behind him. "You will never catch me!" he called over his shoulder and laughed when he saw my red face. Running had never been my favourite thing to do in P.E. and I looked like a mess, whereas Harry looked like he had only gone for a short walk. Suddenly, I spotted something behind Harry which he couldn't see as he was still looking at me. "Harry watch out!" I called out to warn him, when I saw where he was heading, but it was too late, he was already lying on the floor.

Ten minutes later, I was still laughing. By now, we were all sitting on a blanket in a quiet corner of the local park under a big oak tree and Harry had one of the water bottles pressed against his forehead. "I can't believe you run into a street lamp." I giggled and plopped a strawberry into my mouth, while Harry shot me a death stare. "Oh don't be such a sour wolf." I told him and leaned over to pat his knee, but he swatted my hand away and leaned his head against the tree with a dramatic sigh. 

"You can be glad that no one seemed to have caught it on camera. Oh, that would have made a beautiful gif." Gemma said with a dreamy smile and Harry leaned forward to throw a blueberry at her which hit her at her forehead. "Harry, no throwing of food, understood?" Anne interrupted them sternly and Harry nodded sheepishly. However, as soon as Anne had turned her attention back to her conversation with my mum, Gemma stuck her tongue out at Harry who rolled his eyes and instead of throwing another blueberry at her only took another sip from his disgustingly healthy green juice.

The other three chatted among each other, while Harry seemed to be lost in thought. He was starring into the distance and watched a couple of kids who were kicking around a football. I took the chance to let my eyes wander over him, taking in his sharp jawline, his long eye lashes and the way his hair was sticking in every possible direction after his fall. My eyes wandered down to his ridiculous Hawaii shirt which would have looked hilarious on anyone else, but he somehow managed to make it look good, and I felt my lips tug into a small smile.

"Enjoying the view?" Harry's deep voice interrupted me and I flinched and looked up, my cheeks turning red. "Nope." I said with a smirk and quickly looked down at the sandwich which was lying in front of me on my plate. "Whatever makes you sleep at night." he replied and when I looked up again, he was smiling down at me. "You alright?" I quickly changed the topic and he nodded and reached over to give my hand a light squeeze. "Just thinking about how I have to leave you again so soon to go to Los Angeles for a couple of weeks." he said with a sad expression and I gave his hand a tight squeeze, letting our intertwined hands rest on my thigh.

"You still have the rest of your day with us in the park and your friends coming over tonight and Ed's garden party tomorrow. Let's concentrate on that and live in the moment, alright?" I asked him quietly and he nodded and took the water bottle away from his face to give me a kiss. "Ew, some of us want to eat here!" Gemma protested and Harry groaned and let go off me. "Whose ideas was it to invite our families?" he asked me in a loud whisper and I giggled and lightly pushed him back to which he responded with a pout, before he secretly threw another blueberry at Gemma.


	106. Ariel Or Celebrations

The whole living room was buzzing with different conversations and laughter. Anne and Gemma had already fled the scene and had decided to stay at one of Gemma's friend's place tonight to give Harry some freedom. My mum had also already said goodbye in the late afternoon because she had Sally waiting for her at home and she didn't want to ask her neighbours to feed her for another day.

I was currently standing in the kitchen where I tried to decide on what food I should eat out of the wide selection that everyone had brought. "I would go for the pasta salad, Sara always makes the best one." I heard a voice behind me. When I turned around, Leslie was grinning at me and I nearly dropped my plate when I tried to place it on the table to hug her. "Leslie, it's so good to see you! It's been a while!" I squealed and pulled her into a tight hug, while she laughed into my shoulder. "It's good to see you, too, kiddo. How have you been?" she asked me and joined me at the table where she stared to pile food onto her plate, as well.

"Good, good. It's been tough without Harry here, but you can get used to anything, right?" I said and pulled a face. She gave my arm a light squeeze and nodded. "I can imagine that, but I am glad you're doing well apart from that." she said with a warm smile and added the highly praised pasta salad to the wild mix on her plate. "Wanna go over to the living room or outside?" she asked me and when I nodded, I followed her back to where the rest of the group was chatting and laughing. 

Fortunately, I saw a lot of familiar faces which definitely helped me with my anxiety and I quickly made my way through the crowd to the patio outside where I joined Leslie at the table. When I looked up, Ed was grinning at me from the other side of the table. "Claire, my friend, how are you doing?" he asked me with a wide grin and popped a tomato into his mouth. "I'm doing very well now that I am graced with your presence." I replied with a wink and he chuckled and placed a hand over his heart. "I can feel the love radiating off you." he commented dryly and I laughed in reply. 

"So this is where you disappeared to." Harry's deep voice suddenly said behind me, making me jump and accidentally spill my wine over my food. "Harry, you idiot, look what happened because of you!" I scolded him, but he only chuckled and leaned down to press a light kiss to my cheek. "I love you, too, honey." he said with a very strong American accent to which I only shook my head. "I'm sure the wine will enhance the flavour of the tomatoes." Leslie commented with a smirk next to me and then congratulated Harry on his excellent American accent.

"Don't encourage him!" I hissed very loudly and threw a look in Harry's direction who was watching us with a smug grin on his face. "Don't worry, honey, I'll only use it for special occasions." he tried to assure me and Ed, Leslie and her husband all burst out laughing when I swatted him away like an annoying fly. "I'll go and talk to someone who actually wants me." Harry declared loudly and stalked off, but not without adding in quietly in Ed's direction "She'll come back to me, she can't resist my charm and my good looks." Shaking my head at his childish behaviour, I continued to eat my delicious food, while I chatted with Ed, my two American friends and Ben, Sara and Jacki who I also remembered from the few times that I had met Harry's friends. 

Suddenly there was a loud bang inside which made everyone jump and we all tried to figure out what had happened. A few seconds later, Grimmie stepped outside with a wide grin, followed by Harry and two laughing girls who I didn't know. One of them was clinging onto Harry's arm, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth, but I tried to shake it off because I didn't want to be THAT kind of girlfriend. 

Harry somehow must have noticed my gaze because he send me a wink, before he accepted a drink which Ellen was handing him. Grimmie, in the meanwhile, was making his round and shook everyone's hands or pulled people he knew a bit better into a hug. When he reached my end of the table, he gave both me and Ed a hug, before he made Ed, Ben and Sara scoot over so that he could sit down, as well. 

"Sooooo... how is everyone doing?" he asked us with a wide grin and stole the last piece of bread from my plate which earned him a glare from me. "Good until you stole my food." I replied and watched him with a stern look as he happily munched on my food. "What about yourself? What was that bang about?" I asked him and finished off my food. A smirk appeared on his face and he threw a short look in Harry's direction who was now chatting with the two girls who I didn't know and Adam who I had only met once. The girl with the red hair was still clinging onto him and had placed one of her hands on his arm. She was very pretty and reminded me of Disney's Ariel.

"Um, what?" I asked with hint of a blush on my cheeks and focused my attention back on the smirking Grimmie in front of me. "Dreaming about your boyfriend, hm?" he asked with a wink and I rolled my eyes and laughed it off, trying to ignore the Ariel lookalike who couldn't keep her hands off my boyfriend. "I asked what you've been up to during the past few weeks since we celebrated your amazing degree?" he repeated and took a sip from his beer. "Oh, eh... not much, to be honest. I got fired because I'm dating Harry, so I got a new job and that's been keeping me busy." I told him with a shrug and he nodded.

Loud, shrill laughter erupted at the other end of the patio and when I looked up, I could see the Ariel look alike throwing her head back in laughter, while somehow managing to push her boobs into Harry's face at the same time. Next to her, I could see the other girl who had arrived with her and Grimmie exchange an amused look with Adam, while Harry subtly tried to ignore her impressive cleavage which she was presenting him. "Um, excuse me." I said and stood up. The others followed my eyes over to Ariel and Harry and started to grin, when they noticed the resolute look on her face.

I downed the rest of my wine, dramatically flipped my hair over my shoulder, which earned me a few chuckles from the others, and walked over to where Harry and Ariel were standing. She had her back to me and was very busy with battering her eyelashes at my boyfriend to notice me coming up, so I cleared my throat and lightly tapped her shoulder. Ariel whirled around and critically let her eyes wander up and down my body. "Yes?" she asked me with a fake smile and hastily removed her hand from Harry when she saw my eyes lingering on her fingers on Harry's arm.

"Hi, I'm Claire." I introduced myself with a wide smile and held my hand out for her to shake. "Harry's girlfriend." I added with a smirk and nearly let out a loud "ha!" when I saw the fake smile disappear from her face. "Oh, hi, it's so good to meet you." she quickly caught herself and shook my hand, probably hardly resisting the urge to scrap my face with her perfectly manicured hands. "My name is Janet." she introduced herself and run her long fingers through her beautiful long, red hair. The only thing missing was a shell somewhere and a fishtail to make the Ariel picture perfect. To be honest, I was kind of disappointed that she wasn't called Ariel, but I suppose Janet would do, too.

"It's great to meet you, too, Janet." I assured her with another fake smile and slipped my hand into Harry's who had been watching our exchange with an amused smile on his face. "Would you mind if I stole my boyfriend for a minute?" I asked her kindly and tugged Harry away before she even had the chance to reply. When I threw a look over my shoulder before we disappeared into the house, she caught my eyes and shot me a glare which clearly told me that she did indeed mind my actions. I replied with a wink, before I pulled Harry inside and through the cool living room into the bathroom, where I locked the door behind us.

"What are you...?" he started to ask, but before he could even finish his question, I had already cut him off with my lips. He immediately returned the kiss and when we pulled away, I could feel his lips tugging into a smirk. "You insanely hot when you're jealous, have I told you that before?" he growled into my neck and placed a light kiss just under my ear which always got to me. "Is that so?" I managed to squeak, as he worked his way down and gently pulled the strap of my bra and my top off my shoulder. "Hmmmm... the way you walked over to us and talked to her..." he mumbled and continued to gift my skin with feather light kiss which somehow still managed to make me weak in the knees.

"What is Ariel, oops, I mean Janet, doing here anyway?" I asked him and gently pulled him back up to me, before he could go any further. "You have nothing to be worried about, love. She's Grimmie's cousin and he wasn't aware she would act this way, she usually is quite a nice girl. And Grimmie's friend, Felicity, is actually really nice. I'm sure you would get along with her, so make sure to talk to her later tonight." he said with smile and I halfheartedly nodded. "Oh, and why did you just call her Ariel?" he asked me with a smirk and gently pushed a couple of loose strands out of my face. 

"Oh, um..." I blushed, but I knew he would bug me until I told him, so I continued. "She, um, kind of looks like Arielle from the Disney movie, you know? And don't mermaid lure men into the ocean with their charm?" I asked him innocently and batted my eyelashes at him. His face broke into a wide grin and he placed a small kiss onto the tip of my nose. "You're impossible, you know that right?" he asked me and I nodded with a proud grin and smoothed his shirt down which had ridden up a bit. "But you love me." I replied with a wide grin and his grin turned into a fond smile and he gave my waist a gentle squeeze. "That I do." he replied, before his lips where back on mine.


	107. Jealousy Or Clumsy Noodle

"You look beautiful." Harry told me quietly, as we walked up the path to Ed's house which was already buzzing with the sound of laughter and conversation, while music played in the background. I felt my cheeks heat up and looked up. I loved the fact that he could still make me blush with little compliments like that. His kind words and small gestured kept reassuring me that our relationship was always worth fighting for. Harry was already looking down at me with a fond smile on his beautiful face, while the setting sun was illuminating his hair from the back, making it look like he had some sort of halo. "Thanks, you don't look to shabby yourself." I replied with a wink and he gave my hand a light squeeze, before he rang the door bell for us. 

No one answered, so we rang it again and knocked on the front door a couple of times, before the door was finally opened. But to my surprise, it wasn't Ed who opened the door, but a beautiful blonde girl around our age who gave us a wide smile. "Hi, come on in!" She opened the door a bit wider and after a moment of hesitation, we both stepped inside. "Hi, I'm Bella, Ed's girlfriend." she held out her hand for me to shake, but I spontaneously pulled her into a hug which she immediately returned. "It's so good to meet you, Ed's told me loads about you." I smiled at her and thought back to the time where Ed had showed me photos of her for half an hour. "I'm Claire." I introduced myself and saw a look of recognition cross her face. "THE Claire? The song writer?" she asked me and I felt myself blush again.

"Yes, that's her. And my girlfriend." Harry piped in from next to me and Bella's eyes wandered over to Harry who was grinning down at her. "And you are Harry, I presume. Nice to meet you." she said with a chuckle and they shook hands, before Bella tugged me away to introduce me to some people. I threw a half-amused, half-helpless look over my shoulder at Harry who was trailing behind us with an amused grin. He laughed at me, but then was attacked by Cara Delevigne who had jumped him from behind.

Now it was my turn to laugh and I happily waved at Cara, who responded with a wink, before I bumped into someone. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry, I didn't watch where I was going." I instantly apologised and looked up to see Louis grinning down at me. "I'm getting a kind of déja-vue feeling here, love. Haven't I told you that you just have to ask if you want to feel me up?" he joked and I rolled my eyes and pulled him into a quick hug, while Bella patiently waited next to us. "Oh shut up, Tomlinson." I lightly pushed him away and he pouted. "We'll talk later, okay?" he asked me with a small smile and when I nodded his face split into a wide grin.

"Louis get your ass over here, I need someone to help me with my bottle!" Milena called over from the buffet Ed had set up in his living room. "I better go before I don't get sex for another week or whatever she'll come up with next." he apologised himself with a worried look on his face and Bella and I continued our way through the crowd, both lightly snickering at Louis' words. "Men, I swear... They're all the same." Bella complained with a shake of her head and finally came to a hold in front of a group of girls. 

"Oi, listen up!" she shouted over the music and they all turned around. "This is Claire who I just met. She's a friend of Ed's and she seems super nice so be kind, alright?" she introduced me to the group. I was greeted with a lot of smiles and "hellos" and they all introduced themselves, before one of them, Kelly, scooted over a bit so that I could sat down next to her. "Wow, you have gorgeous eyes." a pretty girl with sun-kissed skin and dark brown eyes complimented me with a kind smile. "Thank you, I love your hair. I never get my curls to stay this beautiful for longer than five minutes." I quickly tried to take the attention off me and she laughed and then started to give me tips.

Harry's POV:

"Sooooo... how are you and Claire?" Cara questioned me after we had both gotten us a bottle of beer and a little bit of food. I let my eyes wander over the crowd and finally found my girlfriend sitting with Bella in a small group of girls who were all chatting among each other. "Harry? Hello?" Cara waved her hand in front of my face. Jumping a little bit, I looked back down at her and let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Eh..." I trailed off and watched Claire throw her head back in laughter, her eyes squinted together and her hair falling over her shoulder. 

"You're so whipped, dude." Cara snickered beside me and I cleared my throat and finally tore my eyes away from my beautiful girlfriend. "After watching you drool over her from the opposite end of the garden, I am assuming that you're doing well." Cara interrupted my thoughts and smirked up at me. Almost automatically, I felt my lips tug into a smile and I nodded. "She's everything I always wanted, Car. I don't know how I got so lucky." I admitted to her and she smiled up at me and gave me a light nudge into the side. "I'm happy for you, Harry. You deserve it." she said quietly, before she added "She's quite attractive, eh?" I let out a laugh and pulled her into my side and pressed a light kiss to her hair. 

"Are you happy, too, little one?" I teased her and she pulled away from me and gave me an indignant look. She was a little bit taller than Claire, but still over a head smaller than me and looked anything but scary. "I'm not THAT small." she defended herself and placed both of her hands on her hips. I only hummed in response and she let out a little huff, before she muttered something which sounded like "that's why I'm not dating boys at the moment" and vanished in the direction of the drinks. Chuckling to myself, I let my eyes wander of the crowd again and did a double take, when I spotted Louis and Claire sitting together on a bench in a quiet corner of Ed's garden. Hadn't she been sitting with the girls until a minute ago?

I watched the two of them and fought a wave of jealousy, which was starting to make itself known. "He is your best friend and he is happy with Milena and Claire is happy with you. You have nothing to worry about." I told myself in my head and took another sip from my beer. My stomach twisted when I saw Louis throw an arm around his shoulder and press a kiss to her hair, as she rested her head on his chest. Then he must have said something funny, because she burst out laughing and gave him a light shove which made him fall backwards off the bench into Ed's flowers.

Seeing that Louis was struggling to get up, I made my way over to the bench and walked up to Claire who wasn't helping at all. "God, no wonder you're not getting any at the moment! Milena is lucky that you can kiss her once in a while without falling over." she joked, before she noticed me. Her whole face lit up, making the lion in my chest purr in content. "Can you stop laughing and help me get up?" Louis' annoyed voice came from the end of the little slope he had fallen down. After a halfheartedly apology from Claire for the laughter, we both helped to pull Louis up who hissed as soon as we had pulled him to his feet. 

Almost automatically, I wrapped an arm around his waist and Claire helped me pull him up to the bench where he sat up and immediately held his foot. "Shit, I am sorry for laughing, Lou. Are you alright?" Claire asked concerned and crouched down in front of him to inspect his foot. "Do you need some ice, mate?" I asked him with a worried look at his quickly swelling joint and when he nodded I disappeared into the kitchen and even managed to talk to Milena, as well, who followed me. 

"You clumsy noodle." she said with a fond smile and smoothed down his hair while he leaned his head against her shoulder. "Oi, it wasn't really my fault. Claire shoved me." he protested weakly and hissed again when Claire gently started to apply some pressure to different points of his foot. "I am so sorry, Lou. You know I didn't mean to hurt you." she apologised again and stood up. "'s fine, luv, don't worry about." he assured her with a weak smile and continued to press the ice to his ankle. 

"What do you reckon?" I asked him and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you think you need to get this checked out?" I asked him and after a moment or two he nodded. "But I don't want an ambulance. Maybe you can drive?" he asked hopefully and when I nodded, he sighed and placed the ice next to him on the bench. "Alright, let's do this." I handed Claire my car keys and then Milena and I both heaved Louis onto our shoulders and he literally hopped through the house to my car, earning some stares from the other party guests.

"Not a word." he mumbled angrily when he caught Claire's amused grin and his anything but elegant hopping. "Wouldn't dream of it, honey." she replied with a smirk, before she closed the door behind him and handed me the keys. "I'll just pop back upstairs to tell Ed or Bella that we're off." she explained, before she run back inside, while I sat down in the driver's seat, with Louis next to me who was already complaining to Milena about the pain. It was gonna be a long drive. 

*************

"Mr Tomlinson?" the nurse asked into the small waiting room where they had sent us to avoid Louis and Harry getting mobbed. Louis nodded and slowly got to his feet, immediately holding onto Milena's shoulder when he accidentally put some weight on his sore foot. "Would you like a wheelchair, sir?" the nurse kindly asked and Louis' head snapped up. "No, no, no, no, I'll be fine. Thanks, though." he refused her offer and instead wrapped his arms around Harry and Milena's shoulders and started to hop into the treatment room where the other two helped him sit on the bed.

"Good evening, Sir. Would you mind telling me exactly what happened? Oh, and I'm sorry that I have to ask, but are you okay with your friends being present during the examination?" she asked him and Louis' eyes lingered on me with the hint of a smirk, before he nodded. "They can stay." he assured her, before he briefly told her how he had fallen into Ed's flowers. "Can you move your foot at all?" the nurse asked him and gently started to move his foot to which Louis responded with a yelp. "So that hurts?" she asked him and he nodded with a pained look on his face.

She carefully pressed some other points in his foot, each of which seemed to hurt Louis a lot, before she looked up again. "I can't say anything for sure until we have done an X-ray, but from what you have told me and the amount of pain that you're in, I would say that you may have broken your ankle." she told Louis who nodded in defeat. "I will schedule an X-ray for you within the next few minutes and someone will come to get you, alright? Do you have any more questions so far?" she asked and when Louis shook his head, she got up. "Alright, I'll leave you here for a bit then." she told us with a smile and started to make her way to the door. 

Before she disappeared, she turned around one more time. "Just before I go, sir, would you like some painkillers?" she asked him with a trace of a grin on her face. Louis seemed to think for a moment, but then the pain prevailed over his pride. "That would be great, thank you." he finally admitted and she nodded and returned with two pills and a cup with water a minute later. When she had quietly closed the door behind her, Milena quickly got up and sat down next to Louis on the bed where he instantly pulled her closer to him. "You okay?" she asked him quietly and he nodded, but grimaced when he accidentally moved his foot. 

From the other side of the room, Harry and I silently watched them from the chair that we had both squeezed on. I was sitting on his lap with my head resting against his chest, feeling his steady breathing with every rise of his chest, which seemed to have an oddly calming effect on me. If we hadn't been sitting in a hospital room which an injured Louis, I probably would have fallen asleep within minutes. "Hey, stay awake, love." Harry quietly mumbled into my ear and his thumb started to gently stroke the back of my hand, while his left hand comfortably rested on my thigh. 

Our quiet conversation seemed to have reminded the other two that we were still present because they both looked over to us when they heard Harry's voice. "I am so sorry that you probably broke your foot because of me." I apologised for what seemed to be the 100th time this evening. "Seriously, Claire, stop apologising, alright? You didn't mean to hurt me, did you?" he asked me seriously. His intense gaze made me shrink on Harry's lap and I shook my head. "No, of course not! But I'm sorry for apolo-" I started off, but quickly slapped my hand over my mouth which made the other laugh.

We were interrupted by a light knock on the door and a different nurse poked her head through the door. "Oh, this looks like a cheerful group." she said with a warm smile and let her eyes wander around the room. "I am here to take Mr Tomlinson to the get an X-Ray done, but you three can wait in here, if you like." she said with a look in Harry's direction who nodded. "That would be great, thank you." he thanked her and sent her one of his famous dimpled smiles which she returned.

"Alright, I better take this young man to get his x-rays done." she chuckled and opened the door a bit wider to push a wheelchair into the room. Louis' eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest, but one look at the nurse made him change his mind and he reluctantly pulled himself from the bed into the wheelchair, before she pushed him out of the room. Before she closed the door behind them, she turned around again and caught my eyes. With a grin on her face, she winked at me and mouthed "Men!" which made me and Milena laugh.

"I like her." Milena said with a giggle and got more comfortable on the bed where Louis had been sitting just a minute ago. "What did she mean by 'men'?" Harry asked with a frown on his face and tightened his grip around me, making me chuckle. "Well you men tend to be drama queens, but you're still to proud to accept help when you really need it." I tried to explain the source of our mutual amusement. 

Behind me Harry coughed loudly and pushed away from him so that he could see my face. "We're not drama queens!" he protested in a scandalised tone which made us girls laugh. "Yes, you are, honey, but I love you for it." I said with a grin and messed up his hair, before he could swat away my hand. "When have I ever been a drama queen?" Harry asked me and raised an eyebrow at me as if he wanted to say "I dare you to find something". Shifting slightly in his lap, I turned around a little bit to face him properly. 

"Well... for starters you're kind of being one right now." I said with a grin and he stuck out his tongue at me. "But, if you want to have something more specific, how about every time you fell on stage? Or every time you got wet on stage? Or this one time when I refused to watch The Notebook for the third night in a row?" I asked him with a smirk and I saw the hint of a blush creep onto his cheeks. Behind us, I could hear Milena laugh which quickly turned into a cough when Harry glared at her over my shoulder.

"I am NOT a drama queen." he argued with me again and tried to make his hair look presentable at the same time. With a loud sigh, I lifted my hands and gently cupped his cheeks. "Harry, you are a little drama queen, but I love that side of you and it's nothing bad, you know? It's endearing and I wouldn't have it any other way." I told him with a smile which he returned after a couple of seconds. "I love you." he whispered and leaned in for a short, but sweet kiss. "And I love you." I replied with a grin and leaned in for another kiss, until Milena cleared her throat behind us.

"Still here." she reminded us and I pulled away from Harry, making him pout, before I sent an apologetic look in Milena's direction. "Sorry, 'lena." I apologised with a lopsided grin, but she only laughed. "No, need to apologise, I just wanted to remind you of my presence, before things escalate." she replied with a smirk and I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Our conversation was interrupted by the opening of the door and the nurse pushed Louis back into the room. 

"I'll talk to the doctor and then I'll be back with the results in a couple of minutes, alright?" she said and we nodded, before she disappeared again. Louis pulled himself over onto the bed where Milena jumped to his help. "Did they say anything already?" she asked concerned and smoothed down some of his hair which was sticking out at the back. "Not a word, no. I think she wanted to show it to a doctor before she tells me anything." Louis explained and pulled one of his famous faces which he tended to do a lot in photos.

The four of us chatted for a bit, before there was a knock on the door and the nurse entered the room again, this time followed by a doctor. "Good evening, everyone." he greeted us with a friendly smile and shook everyone's hand, before he turned towards Louis. "I'm Daniel, I am one of the orthopedic consultants in A&E tonight. Alright, so I have some good and some bad news." he said and walked over to a big squared light where he held up Louis' x-ray pictures to get a proper look at them 

"As you can see here, you have unfortunately broken your ankle, sir. But the good news is, that it is a clean cut which means that you won't need surgery." he explained and Louis visibly slumped back into the pillow. I could see Milena give his hand a light squeeze and she whispered something into his ear which made him smile. "So, what happens now?" he asked the doctor who had watched their little exchange with a small grin on his face.

"The, um, foot needs to be secured in a cast for the next six weeks and after that you should be back to normal within a few weeks of physiotherapy to build up your muscles again. I will prescribe you some painkillers which you can take as you need them or every six hours." he explained to Louis and wrote something down on his board. "Do you have any more questions for me, Sir?" he asked Louis who shook his head. Instead, Milena spoke up. "Will he get crutches? And will he need help with showering and stuff like that?" she asked and grinned down at Louis.

The doctor looked at her with an amused grin on his face, before he made another note on his board and nodded. "Yes, we'll organise him some crutches and yes, he will need help as long as he is wearing the cast because he isn't allowed to put any weight on his foot for the first two weeks." he explained to her and then looked at Louis again. "It looks like I don't have to worry about someone taking care of you." he chuckled and Louis grinned up at Milena and pressed a chased kiss to her cheek. "No, I think I am being taken care of." he said with a smile and the rest of us started laughing.


	108. Oooops Or Infinity

After we had dropped Milena and Louis off at his place, we drove to Harry's house in silence, occasionally stealing glances at each other. We both slowly seemed to realise that he was about to leave to finish the film tomorrow morning and his impending departure was looming over us like a dark cloud on an otherwise sunny day. When the car had come to a stop, Harry looked over to me for a moment and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then he changed his mind and instead climbed out of the car. With a few big steps he was on my side and opened the door for me.

"Thank you." I said quietly and he gave me a small smile, before he lead the way to his front door and let us in. "Would you, um, would you like something to drink? I have some wine left if you'd like some." he offered me, after we had both taken off our shoes. I looked up to him and he gave me a smile, which I returned. When I nodded, he swiftly disappeared into the kitchen and after a moment of hesitation, I followed him.

Leaning against the door frame, I watched him pour the rest of a bottle of red wine into two glasses. His hair was falling into his face and the layers at the top were nearly long enough to form curls again. It definitely wouldn't take long for them to make an appearance and I was already looking forward to it. "Did you have a good time at Ed's party until we drove Louis to the hospital?" I asked him quietly which made him look up from the glasses. 

His green eyes were unreadable and he seemed to think for a couple of seconds, before he nodded. "It was good to see Cara again." he said with a smile and walked over to where I was standing before he handed me one of the glasses. "Come on, let's go to the living room, it's a bit more comfy." he suggested and when I nodded, he placed his free hand on my lower back and gently guided me to the sofa.

We both sipped our wine in silence for a couple of seconds, before Harry got up and put some music on. Fleetwood Mac quietly started to play in the background and I couldn't help but smile at Harry's song choice. "I love that song." I admitted quietly with a wide smile on his face which he immediately returned. "I know." We just smiled at each other for a few seconds, before he walked back over to me, but he didn't sit back down.

Instead, he extended his hand and smiled down at me, his dimples on full display. "Would you do me the great honour of dancing with me, Miss Winters?" he asked me with a lopsided smile and when I nodded, his whole face lit up and he pulled me to my feet in a swift motion which made me bump into his chest. 

Humming along to the song, he guided me over to a small area where he didn't have any furniture and pulled me close to him, his eyes never leaving mine. "I realised something today, when I talked to Cara." he told me in a low voice, his lips momentarily brushing my cheek as he leaned closer. "About us. You." he added and pulled away a little bit, so that he could look at me again. His green eyes were burning themselves into mine and I couldn't look away.

"What did you realise?" I whispered and felt his thumb lightly stroke the back of my hand, as he pulled me closer to him. Our noses were almost touching and I could feel his breath fan over my face when he spoke again. "I love you, Claire. And I know we haven't been dating for very long, but I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I can't imagine anything better than waking up next to you for the rest of my life." he said gently and I felt my stomach flip. 

Only then I realised that we had stopped moving. Another song was playing, it was "You Make Loving Fun" and I nearly laughed. "Harry, I..." I started off, but he didn't give me the chance to speak by placing a finger over my mouth. "Shhhh... I am not proposing to you if that's what you're thinking." he tried to calm me down, his green eyes sparkling in the dim light which was coming from the lamp in the corner.

With a kiss to my hand, he let go off me and reached into his back pocket where he pulled out a small box. "Here open it." he said quietly and placed the small box into my shaking hands. After a reassuring look in Harry's direction, I hesitantly opened the box. Inside was a delicate ring with an infinity symbol in the middle. "This is a promise ring. I know that we're not ready to get married yet, but I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone but you and this is my promise that I will never leave you, no matter what. You're stuck with me." he let out a nervous chuckle and I gently traced the infinity sign.

"Do you... do you like it?" he asked timidly and when I looked up, I saw that he was nervously biting his lip. "I love it, Harry, I can't even put into words how much this means to me." I said sincerely and blinked a few tears away. The big smile which appeared on Harry's face was something I would probably never forget. "Here, let me put it on." he said excitedly and carefully took the ring out of the box, before he pushed over my finger. "I love you, Harry." I whispered and wiped a few tears away which had managed to escape my eyes. "Damn it, sorry, I didn't mean to cry." I sniffled and let out a nervous laugh.

"Never apologise for crying, love." He gently cupped my face and kissed my tear stained cheeks, before he slowly wandered down to my mouth. "I love you." he whispered against my skin and kissed the end of my mouth, making my lips curve into a smile. "Just kiss me you idiot." I said with a grin and his lips pulled into a smirk, before he happily gave into my demand.

*****************************

"I love you, I love you, I love you." Harry mumbled in between kisses. His lips wandered down my neck, getting closer and closer to my bra. "Harry, you have to stop this or you'll never make it on time." I scolded him and halfheartedly pushed him off me to which he responded with a pout. "Don't you love me back?" he asked me and even managed to make his lower lip quiver as if he was about to burst into tears. "Of course I love you, my little actor, but if you don't get your butt into the bathroom and take a shower right now, you will get into serious trouble and I don't want to be responsible for that."

He let out a dramatic groan and let go off me, before trotting through the room to the Ensuite bathroom. Just before he closed the door behind him, he turned around one more time with a boyish grin on his face. "How about you join me for the shower?" he suggested, his pink lips curving into a smirk. "No, you horny idiot, just go!" I laughed at him and threw a pillow in his direction. With a big pout on his pretty face, he huffed and closed the door behind him. 

A minute later, the shower was turned on and I let out a quiet chuckle when I heart Harry belting out No Control. "Very subtle, honey!" I shouted into the direction of the bathroom and heard him laugh, before he continued with the song. With a loud sigh, I rolled out of bed and wandered over to Harry's massive walk-in-closet where I helped myself to a big sweater of his. I could spent ages just looking at his clothes, going through all of the memories which were connected to his impressive shirt collection, most of which I recognised only from photos.

I hadn't realised how long I had been in there, until Harry's deep voice interrupted my thoughts, making me jump. "Secretly stealing my clothes again?" he asked me and I nearly dropped the blue jumper in my hands. "Just this one." I replied and held up the jumper, before I stepped away from his shirts. "Would you like to keep one of them? For when I'm gone?" Harry asked quietly from the door, his eyes momentarily wandering down my nearly naked body, before they rested on my face again.

"Are you serious?" I squeaked, my voice suddenly an octave higher than usual, as my inner fangirl was making an appearance. He laughed and nodded, before he walked over to me. His body was only covered by a white towel which was hanging dangerously low on his hips, making the getting ready on time plan very difficult. "Choose whatever you like, love." he said with an encouraging smile and I forced myself to keep my eyes on his face and my hands to myself. 

"Can I have this one?" I asked after a minute of just blankly starring at the shirts. He took it from the hanger and held it next to my face. "Suits you better than me." he agreed with a smile and I blushed a bit and shook my head. "I highly doubt that, but are you sure that you won't miss it?" I asked him and he chuckled and nodded. "I'm sure I will survive without one of my shirts, love. There are only so many shirts that a man can wear anyway." he tried to reassure me. "I know, but are you REALLY sure, I mean it's such a good shirt and-" I rambled off, but Harry cut me off with one of his long fingers which placed itself over my mouth. 

"Claire?" he asked me gently and I hummed, as I was unable to say anything. "I am 100% sure, okay? I want you to have it. Wear it and think of me some times, alright?" he asked me seriously and gently took his finger off my lips. When I nodded, his face split into a smile which mirrored mine, before he leaned in for a kiss. As the kiss got more heated, we moved to one of the doors of his closet and within seconds, I found myself pressed up against what seemed to be his socks and underwear drawers.

Something about our movement must have been too rough because suddenly one of the drawers above our heads opened and the next thing I knew was that it was raining socks. Laughing loudly, we let go off each other, Harry's towel dropping in the process. "Ooooops." he said with a smirk, but didn't bother to cover himself up again. With a giggle, I covered my eyes with one hand and started to make my way towards the exist of his closet with Harry's booming laughter in my ears.

"I haven't seen anything, nope, nothing." I said loudly and felt my way to the door while my other hand was still covering my eyes. "You're impossible." Harry commented behind me, amusement clear in his voice, and placed a hand on my hip to guide me to the exist, but I slipped out of his grip and promptly run into something which turned out to be the door. "No touching, either, Mr Styles, you need to cover yourself up with some proper clothes and then you need to eat some breakfast and get your cute butt to the airport, before you miss your flight." I told him from the safety of his bed room and shut the door behind him, his infectious laughter following me into the bathroom.


	109. Presentable Or We Made It

Two months later...

"I am not sure if I can do this, Lily, I'll look like an idiot!" I frantically mumbled to Lily who was working on my hair. "No, you won't! You look beautiful and you'll have Harry by your side. You will be fine, alright?" She shot me a stern look through the mirror and fixed one last strand with a pin, before she took a step back. "Tada!" she grinned at me and I took in her fantastic work. My hair was falling onto my shoulders in beautiful waves. The front part was pinned back to show off my eyes which Lily had done as well. "I... Thank you, Lily, you did a great job. I look, um, I look presentable." I smiled at her, but instead of returning it, she frowned. 

"Presentable?" She raised an eyebrow and spun me around to face her. "Are you kidding me right now?" she asked me in a low tone. Her glare made me shrink back into my seat. "Um, no, um, I..." I stuttered and then quickly shut up when I saw her hovering over me. "You look fucking beautiful, Claire! You always look beautiful and won't allow you to call yourself 'presentable' when I just spent over an hour on your hair and make up to enhance your beautiful features even more! Do you understand me?" she scolded me and I gulped before I nodded. "Yes, ma'am." I replied with a small grin. She glared down at me for a couple of seconds, before the ends of her mouth twitched and we both burst out laughing.

"God, I am so proud of you, Claire! I know that this is a very big step for you, but this means so much to Harry and you look absolutely stunning, alright?" I nodded and pulled myself to my feet, before I pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for being such an amazing friend." I mumbled into her shoulder. "Thank you for letting me be your friend. I don't know what I would do without you." she admitted quietly and pulled away a little bit. "I don't know what I would do without you, either." I confessed with a smile and she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek. 

We were interrupted by the door bell, which made Lily squeak and run to the front door, leaving me behind in my bed room. In the hallway, I heard Lily talk to Harry, but I couldn't bring myself to step out of my room. My eyes were fixed on my reflection in the mirror. A beautiful and confident looking woman was looking back at me with emerald coloured eyes, framed by long eyelashes. She looked like nothing could stop her and like she didn't have a worry in the world. For some reason, I felt like I was looking at a stranger, rather than my own reflection. I didn't feel confident. I felt like I was gonna break down and cry at any second because my life was completely going to change within the next hour and I was not sure if I was ready for that.

"Claire? Can I come in?" Harry's deep voice interrupted my thoughts from the door. When I didn't react, he lightly pushed the door open. I heard his breath hitch when he took in my appearance and when I finally managed to tear my gaze away from the strange woman in the mirror, I saw that he was completely taken aback. "Claire... you look, you look beautiful!" he said hoarsely and I somehow managed a weak smile. "Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong, love?" he immediately asked when he noticed the distraught state that I was in. 

"Hey, Claire, what's going on? Do you want to stay here? You don't have to do this if you don't want to." he assured me and gently cupped my face, trying not to smear my makeup. I took a deep breath and looked up at his concerned eyes. "I am ready to go, I'm just... I don't feel like myself when I look into the mirror, Harry. I feel like a stranger is looking back at me and she is this beautiful and confident woman and I'm just me, Harry, I'm just me and I am scared that I'll disappoint you, I'm really, really scared Harry." My voice faded out into a whisper and I felt my body shake under Harry's strong grip.

"Claire, you could never disappoint me. Never. You might not see it yourself, but you ARE this beautiful and confident woman, love. You are the most beautiful and kindest woman I have ever met and I am so incredibly proud to call myself your boyfriend and that won't change after tonight. I will probably only feel even more proud when I see photos of us together appearing all over the Internet and not just blurry pap photos which don't do you justice. I love you, Claire. And I promised you that you wouldn't get rid of me any time soon, didn't I?" 

He finished off his speech with a small grin and gently took my right hand into his and guided up to his mouth to kiss the infinity ring he had placed on my ring finger two months ago. "This is for now and forever, Claire. And one day, I'll add another ring on your left ring finger, but for tonight this will have to do." he said with the lopsided smile which he had perfected so well over the years and I felt my lips tug into a smile, as well. "I love you. Thank you for being so understanding." I thanked him quietly and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him down for a kiss. 

"Hey, hey, don't screw up the hair and makeup, kids! I spent too long on that!" Lily protested from the door and Harry and I jumped apart. "I'm glad you're in love and everything, but you're driver is waiting downstairs and you don't want to be late to your own party, do you?" Lily asked us with a grin and then threw me my purse from the door. I sighed and checked my reflection one more time, before I followed Harry into the hallway where Lily pulled me into a tight hug, before she let me leave.

"Now, remember: you are a beautiful, beautiful woman who is strong and confident, alright? Go out there and make me proud, girl." she told me with a wide smile and then pushed me into Harry's direction who was already waiting for me at the door. After a last smile in Lily's direction, I pulled the door shut behind us and wrapped my scarf tighter around my shoulders. The thin fabric of my dark blue dress most definitely hadn't been made for the cold October air which was crawling underneath my dress as soon as I stepped outside. 

I shivered slightly when a breeze brushed over my body, making the hairs on my arms stand up in a feeble attempt to protect me from the cold. "Come on, we need to get you into the car before you freeze to death out here." Harry tugged me into the car and a few seconds later we were already on our way to the location where the party was going to take place.

When we pulled up in front of the entrance, I could already hear the media before we had even opened the door. "Just take my hand and hold onto it as tightly as you can. Remember, they are just doing their job and you don't owe them anything." Harry told me seriously and I nodded, before I shifted around so that I could climb out of the car after him. "Oh, one more thing before we get out." Harry said with a smile and gently tugged a loose strand of hair behind my ear which had somehow managed to free itself from Lily's pins. I hummed and gave him an expectant look. "I love you." Harry said with a boyish grin, before he opened the door and the screaming intensified. 

After a moment of hesitation, I followed him into the explosion of flashes which awaited us. As soon as Harry helped me out of the car, the people around us seemed to be losing their mind and the clicking became even more rapidly. The only thing that I could focus on in this storm of flashing lights and screaming was Harry's strong hand which was securely wrapped around my own, giving me the support I so desperately needed in that moment. I looked up to meet his gaze and in that moment the world around us faded out and I could only see him and the look of pride and love on his face, before he gently tugged me forward into the seemingly dark safety of the club.

As soon as the doors had closed behind us, he pulled me into a tight hug and I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head. "You made it." he whispered into my ear and pulled away a little bit to get a better look at me. I let out a shaky breath and then returned his wide smile, before I corrected him. "No, Harry, WE made it." I told him and pulled him down for a kiss. Someone once said that there are things that you can only say with a kiss and in that moment I knew that they were right.


	110. Epilogue

11th June 2019

"Are you ready?" Lily' voice asked from behind the paravent and I could hear her shuffle around in her long ivory coloured bridesmaid dress. "I, um, I... can you help me with the buttons at the back?" I asked her timidly and hesitantly stepped out from behind the paravent, one hand holding my dress together at my back. My mum's eyes immediately filled with tears and she clapped her hand over her mouth. My eyes wandered over to Lily who's whole face lit up when she saw me. "Claire, honey, you look beautiful!" my mum gushed and Lily nodded in agreement, before she stepped behind me and gently closed the buttons on my back.

"I agree with your mum, you look stunning." she said quietly into my ear, before she stepped away from me. "All done, now come on, look into the mirror already!" she almost demanded and gave me a little push into the direction of the mirror. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and my eyes widened when my eyes found my reflection in the big mirror. The woman looking back at me was beautiful. Her white dress elegantly fell down her small frame and somehow managed to make her look like a princess on the way to prince charming's ball. "I... I don't... Thank you, Lily! And you, too, mum! Thank you so much!" I thanked both of them from the bottom of my heart and turned around to face them.

"Harry will probably cry when he sees you." Lily chuckled and I felt my lips automatically tug into a smile at the mention of my fiance's name. "He better cry!" my mum joked and Lily and I laughed. "But knowing him, he'll shed a tear anyway." my mum added with a grin and I nodded in agreement. "You're probably right." I agreed with her and the three of us giggled for a couple of seconds, before we were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who's there?" Lily called out through the door and walked across the room. "It's your favourite Donny lad, the substitute father of the bride for the day." Louis' voice floated through the closed door, making all of us laugh before Lily opened the door for him. "Looking good, Mrs Horan." Louis complimented her with a smirk to which she replied with a flip of her hair. He happily greeted my mum with a hug, before his eyes fell on me and his mouth dropped.

"Claire, you look absolutely stunning, love!" he complimented me and walked over to where I was standing to pull me into a light hug. "Thank you, you don't look to shabby yourself." I replied with a lopsided grin. His eyes twinkled with amusement when he stepped back and he let his eyes roam over my body, before they focused on my face again. "Harry will probably pass out or something like that, when he sees you." he commented with a smirk and I managed a nervous smile. "I hope that's not the case, the last thing we need is a fainting groom." Lily piped in from the other side of the room, making us all laugh. 

"Claire, I think it's time for us to drive to the church." my mum said with a warm smile in my direction and I felt my stomach flip. "Oh, um, right. I just need to pee one more time before we go." I breathlessly replied and walked over to the bathroom door, before I realised that there was no I way I would be able to pee in this dress without ruining it. "Oh shit, um, Lily or mum, could one of you please help me?" I asked with a blush and tried to ignore Louis' grin. "I can help you, too." he offered with a smirk and took a step into my direction. 

"You can have a nice chat with Martha until we are done in the bathroom, Tomlinson." Lily instructed him with a stern look on her face and he did a little bow and got comfortable on the bed, before Lily gently pushed me into the bathroom and closed the door behind us. "Okay, how are we gonna do this?" I asked with a helpless gesture towards my dress and looked up at Lily. "Um, first of all, we need to pull down your tights and panties and then I'll hold up your dress and you pee or something like that?" she suggested and I nodded. 

"Good thing we've been friends for so long, otherwise this would be embarrassing." I commented while I somehow managed to pull down my panties and positioned myself over the toilet while Lily held up my dress. "I love you, too." she replied with a smirk. Two minutes later, we emerged from the bathroom now fully dressed and giggling like two teenagers. "Do we want to know what you're giggling at?" my mum asked with a raised eyebrow and Lily and I exchanged a look, before we both shook our heads, trying to stifle a laugh. "Alright, let's get you to church, honey, before you're late to your own wedding." my mum shooed us out of the hotel room, I had gotten ready in, and down into the car which was already waiting for us.

The drive to the church wasn't very long, but it was long enough to make me nervous again. My fingers were drumming a random rhythm on my leg and I felt my stomach twist when the church came into view. The perks of getting married in Holmes Chapel was that there were no paparazzi in sight, when I stepped out of the car in front of the church. Harry and I had decided to keep the wedding as small as possible and to avoid any kind of media attention, we had decided to get married in his home town. 

When I had managed to climb out of the car, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down while Lily and my mum were smoothing down my dress and hair. "I have to go inside, honey, but I just wanted to tell you something before you go." My mum tugged me a few steps away from the other two. She looked up at me with a proud smile on her face, her green eyes which I had inherited from her glistering with tears.

"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, honey. I am so incredibly proud of everything you have achieved so far. Graduating with top marks twice? Getting your PhD this year and already running a charity at the same time? That's something not many people can do, Claire. You are someone really special and I have never been prouder to be your mum. And I am happily watching you get married to the love of your life today because I know that no matter what life will throw at you, you and Harry will somehow manage to make it through it all. And your dad, Claire... Your dad would be so proud of you, as well, honey. I am sure he is proudly watching over you from above and I know that he approved of Harry from day one, so get your butt into that church, marry him and let him make you happy for the rest of your life."

My mum sniffled a little bit and I just wordlessly pulled her into a tight hug, unable trying to tell her how I felt in that moment. "Thank you, mum. I love you so much, I don't know what I'd do without you." I told her quietly and blinked a few tears away myself. "Oh, stop crying, honey, or Lily will kill me because I made you ruin your makeup, before the ceremony has even started." she chuckled and pressed one last kiss to my cheek, before she slipped into the church through a small door at the side.

"And then there were three." Louis said with a grin and stepped forward, offering me his arm. "Ready to face the enemy?" he asked me and I gulped and nodded. My throat seemed to be closing up and I suddenly felt like throwing up any second. "Harry is one lucky bastard to have you, love." he said with a smile and pressed a light kiss to my temple. "And I am a very proud substitute dad." he added with a grin and I gave him a light nudge, before I placed my hand into the crook of his arm. "Alright. Lily? You can go in." I said with a small smile and took one last breath, before Lily stepped forward and one of the helpers opened the door.

Pachelbel Canon in D Major started, played by four of my good friends from university, and the all of the guests rose to their seats and turned around to face us. Lily started her way down the aisle, but the attention soon turned to me when I stepped through the big wooden doors onto the white carpet. "Don't let me fall, Lou." I whispered up to him and he gave me an encouraging smile, before we started our way down the aisle. My eyes wandered over the wedding guests and I could feel my cheeks heat up from all the attention, as we slowly made our way down to the front of the church. After a couple of seconds of frantic searching, my eyes landed on Harry and suddenly I was completely calm.

His green eyes found mine and a wide smile spread across his face, which was quickly mirrored by my own. Harry's eyes never left mine and mine only momentarily wandered up to Louis as he placed my hand in Harry's and pressed a light kiss to my cheek, before he stepped to Harry's right side to take up his role as best man. Lily had taken my flower bouquet and gave me an encouraging smile, before I focused my whole attention back on the wonderful man next to me. "You look beautiful." Harry whispered into my ear, before the minister cleared his throat and we both focused our attention on him.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the bond between these two people in front of me, Claire Martha Winters and Harry Edward Styles. I have known Harry since he was a little boy who used to entertain everyone in the church choir and who is without doubt responsible for half of the grey hairs on my head." Everyone chuckled and Harry managed an innocent smile, before the minister continued. "I have also gotten to know Claire quite well over the past few weeks of wedding preparations and Harry really couldn't have chosen a more beautiful and compassionate woman to spend the rest of his life with." Now it was my turn to blush and I felt Harry's hand give mine a little squeeze, which I returned. 

"Although it is very unlikely, I still have to ask: if is there anyone present here today, man or woman, who has a valid reason why this man and woman cannot be married here today, he or she shall step forward now or stay silent from this day onward." There was a short silence in the church, only interrupted by a cough. "Well, they would be a bit stupid to wait until now to say something, wouldn't they?" Louis mumbled next to Harry and everyone let out a chuckle, while his ears turned slightly read, obviously not having expected to be heard so clearly. "Thank you for your input, Mr Tomlinson." the minister commented dryly, making everyone laugh again, and then continued with the ceremony.

After we had sung a hymn and prayed, it was time for declarations. "Harry Edward Styles, will you take the Claire Martha Winters to be your wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honour and protect her, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?" Harry looked down at me and gave my hand a light squeeze, before he replied. "I will." He was crying and I hastily blinked a couple of times to stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks, as well. "Claire Martha Winters, will you take the Harry Edward Styles to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honour and protect him, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?" I looked up at Harry and took a deep breath before I replied. "I will." 

There was a short silence during which the both of us just smiled at each other, completely lost in our own world. "Claire and Harry have both written their own vows and I would like to ask Claire to make hers first." I felt all the eyes in the church focused on me and took a deep breath, my eyes never leaving Harry's. "Harry, you have given me everything I could have ever asked for and so much more over the past four years. You are not only the love of my life, but also my best friend and I love you so much that it hurts me sometimes, even when you insist on watching The Notebook for the third night in a row." The others chuckled and I saw Harry's lips pull into a smile, as well. 

"I never expected to be loved the way that you love me. And I never ever thought that I could fall for someone in the way that I have fallen for you. I know that life is not always easy and I know that life will throw obstacles in our way, but I know that we will get through anything because we have been through a lot already and, yet, you are standing here in front of me today, in front of everyone you love, promising me to love me 'til death do us apart. But, to quote the immortal Beatles: "Love is all you need." And I know that I will always love you, Harry, now and until we're old and wrinkly and you are still not acting your age, because true love lasts a lifetime and you are, and always will be, the love of my life."

When I had finished, Harry was full on crying and so was the the majority of the guests behind us. He took a deep breath and gently stroke the back of my hand with his thumb. "Claire, I have met many, many people over the course of my short life, but no one has ever made me feel the way you do. I had nearly given up on finding my soulmate until Louis stumbled upon you and introduced us. And I would have been happy to simply be your friend because having you in my life in any way is enough for me, but now I can't imagine my life without you by my side." He gave my hand a light squeeze and I could hear a couple of people "awwww" in the background, but my whole attention was focused on the man in front of me.

"Risking to make a complete fool of myself at my own wedding, I am going to quote the lyrics of one of our own songs now, which I know is your favourite song of all times." A couple of people chuckled and I felt my lips tug into a smile, as well. "Claire, you will never love yourself half as much as I love you..." he trailed off and his eyes were filled with so much love and affection that I felt like my heart was about to burst. "But loving you has been the best thing that has ever happened to me and I will gladly continue to love you for the rest of my life, Claire. I can't promise you that we will never go through a rough time, but I can promise you that you will never ever get rid of me, no matter how hard you try. You are my soulmate and I promise you to take care of you in any way on the good days and on the bad days, until death do us apart."

When he had finished, I was full on crying and he raised one of his hands and gently wiped my tears away with his thumb and mouthed "I love you.", before we focused our attention back on the minister in front of us. "Now, if we could please have the rings?" the minister said with a smile and Louis and Lily both stepped forward. He turned back to us and looked down at Harry who gave me a smile, before he looked up to him. There was a sniffle in the first row and everyone turned around to see an embarrassed Anne who was wiping her eyes with a tissue.

The rings were both put on a small red pillow in front of us, before the minister said a prayer. "Harry, please repeat after me." the minister said and with slightly shaking hands, Harry carefully picked up the ring and gently placed it on my ring finger of my left hand. "Claire, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my body I honour you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you, within the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit." Harry took a deep breath before he repeated the words to me, his eyes never leaving mine, while he tightly held onto my hand where I was now wearing my wedding band.

After I had repeated the same words to Harry, but struggled slightly with the ring and needed his help, much to the amusement of the guests and the minister. We looked at each other with big grins on our faces, again completely forgetting about the present wedding guests behind us. "In the presence of God, and before this congregation, Claire and Harry have given their consent and made their marriage vows to each other. They have declared their marriage by the joining of hands and by the giving and receiving of rings. I therefore proclaim that they are husband and wife." the minister said with a wide smile and everyone cheered, as Harry pulled me closer to him and gave me a short, but very sweet kiss.

After we had sung another hymn together and prayed the Lord's prayer, the the church musician started to play Mendelssohn's Wedding March and Harry and I slowly walked down the aisle to the big wooden doors, both widely grinning and greeting guests along the way. "We're married." I said in awe and starred down at the ring on my finger for a couple of seconds, before I looked back at Harry. "We are." he confirmed and pulled me down for a kiss, this time a bit longer. "I love you, Mrs Claire Styles." he whispered against my lips and I grinned back up at him. "I love you, too, Mr Harry Styles." I replied and pressed my lips to his again, until we were interrupted by the wedding guests who started to leave the church. 

"Congratulations, you two!" Anne pulled both of us in a tight hug, before she handed me over to my mum. "I am so happy for you! My daughter is married." my mum said and nearly started to cry again. "Who would have thought that my little brother would get married before me." Gemma commented from behind her and pulled first Harry and then me into a tight hug. "I couldn't have asked for a better sister in law." she said to me with a wide smile and Harry proudly grinned down at me. "Thank you, Gemma, I am couldn't have asked for a better sister in law, either." I smiled at her, before the was a bit of an tumult and Louis, Milena, Lily and Niall, Liam and Sophia and Zayn and Gigi stepped forward, all wearing big grins on their faces.

"And then there was only one honourable bachelor left in the group." Louis said with a wide grin and pulled Harry into a hug, while his girlfriend hugged me. The boys all pulled Harry into a group hug, while we girls watched from the side with amused grins on our faces. The hugging session was interrupted, when more guests stepped forward to congratulate us. I received a tight hug from Ed who had come with his wife Bella and their little daughter Jasmine, and after that one by one all of our close friends and family hugged us, before they all disappeared into their respective cars. 

In the car on our way to the reception, Harry and I enjoyed the short moment of peace and quietness. "Do you think Louis is up to something?" I asked Harry out of the blue and thought about his bachelor comment. He gave me an amused look and shook his head. "No, what do you mean?" he leaned forward and gently pushed a strand of hair out of my face, his fingers lingering on my skin for a couple of seconds. "I am not a hundred percent sure, obviously, but I think he might propose to Milena tonight." I said with a smile and he thought for a moment, before he started grinning as well. "You know what? Knowing Louis, I think you might be right." he agreed with a wide grin and let out a chuckle.

"You look so beautiful today, love. I am so tempted to steal you away and ditch our reception, so that we can start our honeymoon right now." Harry admitted with a smirk and I laughed and lightly slapped his chest. "As much as I would love to do that, you know we can't just disappear. And I have been looking forward to the amazing food and especially the wedding cake for far too long, so there is no way I am missing out on that." I admitted with a grin. Shaking his head, Harry looked down at me with a fond smile, before he pulled me over for another kiss. "Okay, fine, you've convinced me. And spending time with all of my favourite people in the world might not be that bad either." he grudgingly agreed, just as the car came to a stop in front of the hall where we would have our reception. "Ready to face the enemy?" Harry asked me with a grin and for the second time that day I nodded and followed him inside where we were greeted with loud cheers.

The food was even better than I had imagined it and the conversations seemed to flow easily between the guests. "I think it's time for the newly weds to cut the cake." Louis announced with a wide grin and Niall cheered loudly, which made everyone in the room laugh. Harry quickly got up and pulled the chair back for me, before he offered me his hand. "Mylady?" He did a little bow and I giggle and linked our hands together, before I followed him over to where the enormous chocolate cake was. 

After everyone had eaten a piece of cake and had tried at least one other dessert that the buffet had to offer, it was time for our first dance as a married couple. I didn't have a clue how exactly I was going to dance with all the food I had eaten, but I knew that I didn't really have a choice in that matter so I followed Harry onto the dance floor under the loud cheers of the rest of the party. We had requested Thinking Out Loud as our first song, but my eyes widened in surprise when Ed suddenly climbed onto the stage and picked up his guitar. "It's my honour to play this song for two of my best friends on their wedding day. Congratulations, you two!" Ed smiled down at us and I blew him a kiss, before he started the song and all I could focus on was my husband who was holding me in his arms.

"Oh, baby, we found love right where we are, and we found love right where we are..." Harry sung quietly into my ear and if he hadn't been holding me in his arms in that moment, I probably would have melted into a puddle on the floor. When Ed had finished the song, everyone cheered and then Harry pressed a kiss to my lips, before he asked his mum for the second dance of the evening. In that moment, I missed my dad more than ever before, maybe even more than earlier that day at church. However, the helpless look on my face didn't seem to have gone unnoticed because the next moment, someone tapped my shoulder.

When I turned around, I saw a pair of blue eyes grinning down at me and I felt my lips tug into a smile. "The substitute father is reporting for duty." Louis said with a mock bow and offered me his hand which I took without hesitation. He let me into the middle of the dance floor and started to twirl around so widely that we nearly bumped into Anne and Harry who were watching us with amused looks on their faces. 

"As much as I love you, I am kind of glad that we never worked out, love." Louis suddenly admitted quietly over the music and our dancing became a bit more conventional again. "I am not sure whether I should take this as a compliment." I replied with a smirk and he grinned down at me. "Oh, it is. I said "I love you.", didn't I? What I meant to say is, that I am glad that we are still such close friends, but that I am grateful that you let me go that day because otherwise I would never have fallen in love with Milena." he explained and I pulled him tighter for a few seconds into a hug. 

"I am glad to hear that, Lou. I love you, too, and I couldn't be happier for you and Milena. You two are perfect for each other." I told him sincerely and he beamed down at me. "Well, I am glad you think so because I am going to ask her to marry me after the next song." he admitted with a mischievous smile and I stopped in my tracks, making him bump into me. "I knew it!" I exclaimed and blushed madly when everyone looked at me. Louis burst out laughing and wrapped an arm around my waist to stabilise me. "I knew! I am so happy for you, two, Lou!" I beamed up at him and pulled him into a tight hug which he returned.

Our moment was interrupted by Harry who was grinning down at us. "Would you mind if I stole my wife back, mate?" he asked Louis with a grin who shook his head. "No, by all means, take her. She's getting to clingy anyway." he joked and winked at me. I shot him a glare to which he responded with a kiss to my cheek, before he handed me over to Harry and walked over to where Milena was standing. "He's going to propose to her after the next song." I whispered into Harry's ear, my voice shaking with excitement. He looked over to Louis and Milena who were now dancing closely entwined. Louis was whispering something into her ear which made her giggle and I could see the blush on her face and the love in her eyes when she looked back up at her boyfriend. 

Harry swayed me around to Flowers In The Window by Travis which was one of our favourite songs, both of us smiling at each other, completely lost in our own little world. When the song had ended, our attention quickly turned to the couple next to us. Louis guided Milena over to the stage and hopped up to the mic while everyone was watching him with confused looks on their faces. Louis and I exchanged a look and I gave him an encouraging smile. His eyes focused on his confused girlfriend who was looking up at him and he took a deep breath and then started to speak.

"Milena, I fell for you the moment I met you for the first time in Claire's kitchen. You are everything I could ever hope for and I love you more than anything in the world. You have been there for me during everything that has happened over the past three years, and two months ago you gave me the greatest gift I have ever received, a child." The room erupted in gasps and I clapped my hand over my mouth, tears glistering in my eyes as I watched two of my best friends getting engaged. "There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with and no one else I would rather have as the mother of my child, so there is something I need to ask you." 

In a fluid motion, Louis jumped of the stage and went down on one knee in front of Milena who was crying. "Milena, will you do me the honours of becoming my wife?" Louis asked her and opened a small jewelry box in his hands, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. All eyes were now on Milena, who was crying so hard that she had difficulties to speak. "Yes, of course I'll marry you, you idiot!" she cried after a couple of seconds and the room erupted in cheers. But the best thing about this moment was the look of pure love and happiness on Louis' face, before he placed the ring on her finger and pulled her into a kiss. 

Behind me, I felt Harry's arms wrap around me and I leaned my head against his chest. "Looks like we'll have another wedding to attend in the near future." he said quietly into my ear as we watched the others congratulate Milena. "And the first One Direction baby." I added with a smile and looked up at him. "Uncle Harry does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" he agreed and pecked my lips, before he took my hand into his and lead me over to Louis and Milena to congratulate them on their engagement and pregnancy.

"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?" I squealed as soon as I had reached Milena and pulled her into a tight hug. She laughed and pulled away a little bit. "We wanted to keep it a secret until I am out of the first twelve weeks." she admitted with a smile and lightly placed her hand on her belly. Now that I knew about it, I could clearly detect a small bump. "Oh, I am so happy for you and Louis. And now you're engaged!" I gushed and she giggled and let me have a closer look at her ring. 

Behind us, Harry cleared his throat and I let go of Milena and let Harry hug her. Instead, I turned around and wrapped my arms around Louis who returned the hug. "I am so, so happy for you, Lou. You have a beautiful fiance and you're gonna be dad sometime around Christmas." I beamed up at him and he smiled down at me and gave my hand a light squeeze. "As long as he or she isn't born on my birthday, we'll be fine." he joked and I laughed and shook my head at his childish remark, before I let go off him and made space for Zayn.

"This is the best day of my life so far." I said with a happy sigh, as I sat down on a random chair and took a sip from my glass of champagne. Harry sat down next to me and mimicked my actions. Both of us let our eyes wander over our dancing friends and family members who all seemed to be having the times of their lives. "This day is definitely the best day of my life, as well." Harry agreed with me and looked over to me with a fond smile on his face. "Or at least until our first child is born." he added after a moment and I felt my face split into a wide grin, before I quickly looked around to see if my mum was anywhere close to us. 

After a couple of seconds, I spotted her on the dance floor, dancing with her boyfriend Brian, looking happier than ever. "Please don't let her hear that. She's been talking about wanting grandchildren for years now." I told Harry with a smile who gave me an innocent grin, which quickly turned into a smirk. "Oh God, she's talked to you about that again?" I asked mortified and when he nodded I groaned and took another big sip from my glass. "Well, she wanted to know whether I have kept my promise." he said quietly and looked back to me. 

Slightly confused, frowned and shot him a questioning look. "What promise?" I asked him and he leaned forward and took both of my hands into his. "That I would marry you and that I would help her with her wish to have grandchildren sometime in the near future." he replied with a boyish grin, before leaning in for a kiss. "So you want to have kids soon?" I asked him and he let his eyes wander over to where Louis and Milena were dancing together and then to Ed who was dancing with Bella and their daughter Jasmine in his arms. 

"Honestly?" he asked me and I nodded. "Yes, I would love to have kids soon. I want to be young enough to be able to see my kids grow up and be as active in their lives as possible, but right now I am very happy to have you by my side, with or without children." he admitted and I felt my lips tug into a wide smile, before I leaned over to kiss him. "We'll talk about children some other time, alright?" I asked him quietly and he nodded. "It's not that I don't want any children, I just want to talk about it and at least plan things a little bit so that we can be the best parents possible to our kids." I explained to him when I noticed the look on his face. 

By the time I had finished my explanation, he was smiling again and pulled me onto his lap. "I love you so much, Mrs Styles." he said lovingly and smiled down at me. Shifting slightly to get a little more comfortable in my wedding dress, I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned the smile. "I love you, too, Harry. And I can't wait to see what an amazing dad you will be to our children one day. But first we can practice a little bit on Louis and Milena's kid, okay?" He nodded and I pulled him down for a kiss, until we were interrupted by a cough next to us. 

"I am sorry to interrupt, but we all have a present for you two." Lily said with a smirk and Harry and I reluctantly let go off each other and followed her up the stage. "Hi everyone, excuse me for interrupting the party for a moment." Lily grinned down at our guests and then looked over to me and Harry. We were watched her with wary looks on our faces, as she walked to the left end of the stage and picked up a present. "This is from everyone here at the wedding." she told us, before she handed it to us. 

After exchanging a look, Harry and I carefully unwrapped it, while everyone watched us with big grins on our faces. When we held the present in our hands, my eyes started to tear up again and Harry seemed to be fighting some tears himself. "You, guys... This is beautiful, thank you so much." he said hoarsely and held up the photo book. "Everyone added a photo of themselves and some of you two and wrote a little note on each page." Lily explained and without another word, I pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Lil. I know that this was your idea." We pulled away and she grinned down at me with a wide smile on her face. "You're very welcome." 

After skipping through a couple of pages, Harry and I thanked everyone again and then carefully placed it in the middle of the table with the wedding gifts. "Come on, it's time to celebrate!" Niall bounced over to us and took both of our hands to pull us onto the dance floor. Everyone started to laugh and when the next song came on, Harry took my hand and started to swirl me around. The song was Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen and while I was dancing with Harry, I listened to the lyrics, grinning to myself.

I let my eyes wander over all the people that loved, before I looked back up at my husband who was grinning down at me, his green eyes sparkling with happiness. He spun me around and I crashed into his chest, making us stumble and then laugh, before we continued to dance again. I had never felt this happy in my whole life and wanted to savour this moment for the future so that I could go back to it any time I liked. I caught sight of Lily and Niall who were clinging onto each other in laughter and then looked over to Louis and Milena who seemed to be completely lost in their own little world. Harry pressed a light kiss to my cheek and I looked back up at him with a wide grin and for the first time in my life, I felt truly at home. 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,  
> Can you believe it? We actually did it. We have reached the end of my first story ever and I can guarantee you that this story would not exist without every single one of you.  
> I would like to thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart for giving me a chance as a writer. I have not only grown as a writer, but also as a person, with this story and I cannot thank you enough for supporting me the way you did.  
> Thank you for coming onto this journey with me and Claire. Letting go has never been one of my best qualities and writing this epilogue somehow turned into the best and the worst thing I have ever written ( and the longest chapter ever with nearly 65000 words).  
> I hope that you like how the story ended. I hope I gave everyone the ended they deserved and I particularly wanted to give Louis just as much of a happy ending as I wanted one for Claire and Harry.  
> All the love,  
> S xx


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